Portable system for dispensing controlled quantities of additives into a beverage

ABSTRACT

A portable, self-contained beverage apparatus includes a container assembly having a known storage capacity for storing a consumable liquid, and a dispensing assembly disposed within the container assembly that dispenses variable, non-zero quantities of additives into the consumable liquid. The dispensing assembly includes multiple apertures structured and arranged to retain vessels containing the additives to be dispensed into the consumable liquid. The beverage apparatus also includes a level sensor disposed within the container assembly that determines a consumable liquid level of the consumable liquid stored in the container assembly. In certain embodiments, one or more positive displacement pumping mechanisms are configured to pump additive liquid from additive containers into a beverage chamber.

RELATED APPLICATIONS AND PRIORITY

This application is a continuation-in-part (CIP) of, and claims priorityto, U.S. application Ser. No. 15/179,709, filed Jun. 10, 2016, theentire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationSer. No. 62/442,039, filed Jan. 4, 2017, the entire disclosure of whichis hereby incorporated by reference.

The subject matter of this application is related to U.S. applicationSer. No. 14/960,109, filed Dec. 4, 2015 and published Jun. 9, 2016,which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No.62/174,935, filed Jun. 12, 2015; U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationSer. No. 62/174,466, filed Jun. 11, 2015; U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Ser. No. 62/174,415, filed Jun. 11, 2015; and U.S.Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/088,189, filed Dec. 5, 2014,the entire disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

The subject matter of this application is also related to InternationalApplication Ser. No. PCT/US2015/063974, filed Dec. 4, 2015 and publishedJun. 9, 2016, which claims priority to U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Ser. No. 62/174,935, filed Jun. 12, 2015; U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application Ser. No. 62/174,466, filed Jun. 11, 2015; U.S.Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/174,415, filed Jun. 11, 2015;and U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/088,189, filed Dec.5, 2014, the entire disclosures of which are hereby incorporated byreference.

The subject matter of this application is also related to U.S.application Ser. No. 15/179,709, filed Jun. 10, 2016, which claimspriority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/174,935,filed Jun. 12, 2015; U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No.62/174,466, filed Jun. 11, 2015; U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationSer. No. 62/174,459, filed Jun. 11, 2015; U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Ser. No. 62/174,453, filed Jun. 11, 2015; U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application Ser. No. 62/174,447, filed Jun. 11, 2015; U.S.Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/174,427, filed Jun. 11, 2015;U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/174,415, filed Jun. 11,2015; U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/174,343, filedJun. 11, 2015; U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/174,336,filed Jun. 11, 2015; U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No.62/174,254, filed Jun. 11, 2015; and U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationSer. No. 62/174,440, filed Jun. 11, 2015, the entire disclosures ofwhich are hereby incorporated by reference.

The subject matter of this application is also related to InternationalApplication Ser. No. PCT/US2016/036992, filed Jun. 10, 2016 andpublished Dec. 15, 2016, which claims priority to U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application Ser. No. 62/174,935, filed Jun. 12, 2015; U.S.Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/174,466, filed Jun. 11, 2015;U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/174,459, filed Jun. 11,2015; U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/174,453, filedJun. 11, 2015; U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/174,447,filed Jun. 11, 2015; U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No.62/174,427, filed Jun. 11, 2015; U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationSer. No. 62/174,415, filed Jun. 11, 2015; U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Ser. No. 62/174,343, filed Jun. 11, 2015; U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application Ser. No. 62/174,336, filed Jun. 11, 2015; U.S.Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/174,254, filed Jun. 11, 2015;and U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/174,440, filed Jun.11, 2015, the entire disclosures of which are hereby incorporated byreference.

BACKGROUND

Portable refillable bottles and other containers used for water andother beverages are widely used and are important for health andhydration. Such bottles and containers are also used with increasingfrequency to consume functional ingredients, such as, for example,energy, protein, and sleep supplements. However, one limitation of suchbottles and hydration containers is that the consumable contents remainconstant and unchanged except for changes in quantity as the contents(frequently, but not exclusively water) are consumed and subsequentlyreplenished.

Furthermore, vitamins, health, and dietary supplements in the form ofliquids, powders, gels, and solid tablets are becoming increasinglypopular and widely consumed. Such supplements and additives arefrequently being bought in bulk by consumers since they are using andconsuming such supplements and additives on a frequent and long termbasis. In addition, such nutritional supplements are frequentlydissolved in water for consumption, with different supplements consumedat intervals, several times throughout the day.

Abbreviated Summary

A portable, self-contained beverage apparatus includes a containerassembly having a known storage capacity for storing a consumableliquid; a level sensor disposed within, or attached to, the containerassembly that determines a consumable liquid level of the liquid storedwithin the container, and a dispensing assembly disposed within, orattached to the upper or lower end of, said container assembly. Thedispensing assembly includes a plurality of apertures structured andarranged to retain additive vessels, which contain additives that may bedispensed into the consumable liquid in variable, non-zero quantities.These additive vessels can be easily inserted or removed by users, and aportion of the contents (e.g., additives) contained therein can bedispensed reliably and repeatedly through a valve, or series of valves,when mechanical force is applied to the vessel, or when mechanical forceis applied to the aperture in which the vessel is contained, either viaelectromechanical means or through “manual” means (e.g., where the forceis provided controllably by the user via a mechanical interface).

The dispensing assembly can be easily attached to the container assemblyby means of threading, clips, or an otherwise secure attachmentmechanism while also being easily separable from one another by a user.In at least one embodiment, the dispensing assembly containswater/temperature sensitive systems, and is separable by the user,allowing the container assembly to be washed, placed in a refrigerator,or be heated in a microwave oven, and the like.

The portable, self-contained beverage apparatus can periodicallypartially or fully dispense additives into a consumable liquid containedwithin the container assembly in continuously variable volumes orconcentrations, with contextual variables informing type, volume,timing, and the like of the dispensing action. The contextual variablescan include or be capable and/or configured to perform one or more ofthe following: measure the level of liquid in the container and adjustthe amount of additive dispensed in order to achieve a targeted level ofconcentration of the additive in the liquid contained in the container;block or postpone a dispensing event if the container is empty orinsufficiently filled; block or postpone dispensing an additive if thecontainer has not been refilled since a previous dispensing of the sameadditive; trigger dispensing if the container is partially emptied andthen refilled so as to maintain a targeted level of additiveconcentration; block, postpone, or otherwise modify dispensing basedupon measured or inferred temperature of the solute, specifically assuch data might relate to the solubility of an additive; adjust theamount of additive dispensed based on user preferences and/or useractivity, location, environment or context of use; and/or block,postpone, or otherwise modify dispensing based upon prior consumptiondata, either specific to the device, or as collected from acomplementary and/or supporting data source based upon some hourly,daily, or weekly limit or goal, such as food-logging data systems andthe like.

As described above, one of the main limitations of existing portablebottles and other containers is that the consumable contents containedin such bottles and containers remain essentially unchanged other thanin their quantity. The utility of such bottles and containers can begreatly enhanced if the flavor, consistency, and/or the nutritional,chemical or other make-up of the consumable liquid is altered over someperiod of time (e.g., hourly, daily, etc.) and/or according to someother cycle based on, for example, the needs or desires of the user, inorder to optimize the health and well-being of the user. For example,the consumable liquid can be enhanced with an energy boosting supplementin the morning to facilitate alertness and focus, with vitaminsupplements throughout the day, and with a calming nutritionalsupplement at the end of the day to facilitate quality sleep. Such adaily cycle can be supplemented by an additional longer term cycle ofadditives dispensed on a weekly, bi-weekly, etc., basis or some othercustomized time-cycle. As well as nutritional supplements, it mayadditionally be desirable to dispense other types of substances oradditives such as, for example, vitamins, flavorings, pharmaceuticals,and the like, into the contents of portable containers in order tofurther optimize the health, hydration, recovery, and other benefits toa user, athlete, or patient.

Another feature of the methods, systems, and apparatuses describedherein relates to additive vessels retained within apertures in thedispensing assembly, from which the additives are dispensed into theconsumable liquid stored in the container assembly. The additive vesselscan be easily removed by a user from the dispensing assembly at any time(e.g., when the additive vessel is not yet empty), stored and/orreplaced in the dispensing module for continued use, or transferred tothe dispensing assembly of a second container. In at least oneembodiment, the additive vessel is recyclable, and configured in such away as to prevent or otherwise discourage end-user refilling/reusing. Inanother example, the additive vessel can be recyclable following theremoval of the dispensing nozzle.

Aspects of the present disclosure also relate to the functional form andconfiguration of the materials, shape, form, and valve mechanism of theaforementioned additive vessels inserted or received within thedispensing assembly, enabling one or more additives contained withinsaid vessels to be controllably dispensed into the consumable contentsof the container. In accordance with at least one embodiment, dataassociated with the vessel informs a dispensing system of the vessel'scapacity status and/or other important information relevant to the user,the system, and/or the apparatus.

In accordance with at least one embodiment, a portable, self-containedbeverage apparatus includes a dispensing assembly that is attachable toa lower end of the container assembly. The dispensing assembly holds aplurality of additive vessels or containers which can be removed, andfurther includes a controller that controls the dispensing by thedispensing assembly of the variable, non-zero quantities of theadditives into the consumable liquid stored in the container assembly.In this and other embodiments such dispensing mechanisms can operate byhaving a repeatable force act upon the additive vessel, or the aperturein which the additive vessel is contained, track dispensing actions, andobtain data regarding the contents and dispensing protocol of theadditive vessels. In this and other embodiments the dispensing can bevariable based on the consumable liquid level of the container assemblydetermined by the level sensor and the known storage capacity of saidassembly. One having ordinary skill in the art will understand that suchoperating methods do not necessitate wholly electromechanicalapproaches, and in some cases may in fact benefit from a less automated,simple, or low-cost implementation. The methods, systems, and apparatusof the present disclosure also improve upon existing approaches forcreating consumable beverages by enabling full or partial dispensing ofthe additive from an additive vessel. This is in contrast to manyexisting approaches that are based upon puncturing a seal or membraneand releasing all of the contents of the vessel or container, which canbe used only once and which also cannot be transferred to a secondcontainer and in many cases are also not suitable for recycling.

In one embodiment, the dispensing assembly of the portable,self-contained beverage apparatus includes a nest having a plurality ofnest apertures structured and arranged to receive and support additivevessels retained in the apertures.

In accordance with one embodiment, a precise and continuously variabledispensing of an additive liquid is provided by a pump mechanism which,in at least one embodiment of this system, draws additive from acontainer or vessel and dispenses the additive into a consumable liquidcontained within the container assembly. A method enables a user'sinput, such as a finger press, to translate into a dispensing event thatis precise and repeatable. Electronics can be configured to log ormeasure which additive container or vessel is used, what dispensingquantity is dispense, and a number of dispensing events that occur tolog a user's consumption activity and behaviors.

In one embodiment of the system, a method for determining the leveland/or volume of the consumable liquid contained within the containerassembly may be included. A user may be drinking a consumable liquidfrom the container as needed and refilling it periodically, thereforethe level in the container will vary over time. Thus, to achieve thecorrect concentration when an additive is dispensed, the amount ofliquid in the container at the time of dispensing needs to be known andthe amount of additive dispensed adjusted so that the resultingconcentration is correct. Methods for determining the level and/orvolume may include a level sensing device such as an infrared receiverdiode array, non-contact capacitive sensing arrays, ultrasonic sensordevices, sensors that include a pressure transducer and/oraccelerometer, etc., in order to adjust the dispensing of additives andto control the resulting concentration of the additives in theconsumable liquid. Further details on methods for achieving this aredisclosed.

In this and other embodiments of the portable, self-contained beverageapparatus, a means for managing information associated with theapparatus is provided. This includes a means for reading identificationinformation on the additive vessels retained in the apertures; a memorydevice storing the tracked consumable liquid level in the containerassembly and the quantity of at least one additive, the level sensorsensing the consumable liquid level at different times, the controllertracking the consumable liquid level in the container assembly and thequantity of additives dispensed into the consumable liquid, and thememory device storing the identification information of each of thevessels retained in the apparatus in data association with the trackedconsumable liquid level and quantity of additives. This information canbe relayed from the beverage apparatus to a network, and in accordancewith at least one embodiment, Bluetooth low energy may be used as theprimary transmission method of such information.

In this and other embodiments, the method of controlling a portable,self-contained beverage apparatus further includes: readingidentification information on vessels retained in the apertures; storingthe tracked consumable liquid level in the container assembly and thequantity of the at least one additive; sensing, using the sensor devicedisposed within the container assembly, the consumable liquid level atdifferent times; tracking the consumable liquid level in the containerassembly and the quantity of additives dispensed into the consumableliquid; and storing the identification information of each of thevessels retained in the apparatus in data association with the trackedconsumable liquid level and quantity of additives.

In accordance with one or more embodiments, the beverage apparatusincludes a means, such as RFID, NFC, optical, etc., to identifyinformation on the additive vessels retained in the apertures. Thisinformation may detail, for example, contents of the additives, lotnumbers, nutritional information, etc. In addition, another featuredescribed herein is the ability to write information to areadable/writeable tag located on an additive vessel, in order totransfer the information with the additive vessel to additional,separate containers or systems. This information can be relayed to anetwork from the beverage apparatus, wherein Bluetooth low energy can beused as the primary transmission method of such information.

In one embodiment, a means to use activity, location information, userdata, etc. from a third party application can relay information to thebeverage apparatus, wherein Bluetooth low energy can be used as theprimary transmission method of such information, in order to informcontext for dispensing of certain types and amounts of additives.

SUMMARY

This Summary introduces a selection of concepts in a simplified form inorder to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the presentdisclosure. This Summary is not an extensive overview of the disclosure,and is not intended to identify key or critical elements of thedisclosure or to delineate the scope of the disclosure. This Summarymerely presents some of the concepts of the disclosure as a prelude tothe Detailed Description provided below.

The present disclosure generally relates to hydration systems, methods,and apparatuses. More specifically, aspects of the present disclosurerelate to a portable and non-portable hydration container thatperiodically fully or partially dispenses additives into a liquidconsumable or other solute within the container in continuously variablevolumes or concentrations, with contextual variables informing type,volume, timing, and the like of the dispensing action.

One embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a portable,self-contained beverage apparatus comprising: a container assemblyhaving a known storage capacity for storing a consumable liquid; adispensing assembly disposed within the container assembly thatdispenses variable, non-zero quantities of additives into the consumableliquid stored in the container assembly, where the dispensing assemblyincludes a plurality of apertures structured and arranged to retainvessels containing the additives to be dispensed into the consumableliquid; and a level sensor disposed within the container assembly thatdetermines a consumable liquid level of the consumable liquid stored inthe container assembly.

In another embodiment, the portable, self-contained beverage apparatusfurther includes a controller that controls the dispensing by thedispensing assembly of the variable, non-zero quantities of theadditives into the consumable liquid stored in the container assembly.

In another embodiment, the controller of the portable, self-containedbeverage apparatus controls the dispensing by the dispensing assembly ofthe variable, non-zero quantities of the additives based on theconsumable liquid level of the consumable liquid determined by the levelsensor and the known storage capacity of the container assembly.

In another embodiment, the portable, self-contained beverage apparatusfurther includes reading means for reading identification information onvessels retained in the apertures, said controller controlling thedispensing by the dispensing assembly based on the identificationinformation.

In another embodiment, the portable, self-contained beverage apparatusfurther includes reading means for reading identification information onvessels retained in the apertures; and a memory device storing thetracked consumable liquid level in the container assembly and thequantity of the at least one additive, the level sensor sensing theconsumable liquid level at different times, the controller tracking theconsumable liquid level in the container assembly and the quantity ofadditives dispensed into the consumable liquid, and the memory devicestoring the identification information of each of the vessels retainedin the apparatus in data association with the tracked consumable liquidlevel and quantity of additives.

In another embodiment, the controller of the portable, self-containedbeverage apparatus controls the dispensing by the dispensing assembly toachieve a targeted concentration of at least one of the additives in theconsumable liquid stored in the container assembly, wherein thecontrolling is based on the consumable liquid level of the consumableliquid determined by the level sensor and the known storage capacity ofthe container assembly.

In another embodiment, the level sensor of the portable, self-containedbeverage apparatus senses the consumable liquid level at differenttimes, and the controller tracks the consumable liquid level in thecontainer assembly and the quantity of at least one additive dispensedinto the consumable liquid.

In yet another embodiment, the portable, self-contained beverageapparatus further includes a memory device storing the trackedconsumable liquid level in the container assembly and the quantity ofthe at least one additive.

In another embodiment, the controller of the portable, self-containedbeverage apparatus controls the dispensing by the dispensing assembly tomaintain the targeted concentration of at least one of the additives inthe consumable liquid stored in the container assembly, wherein thecontrolling is based on tracked consumable liquid level and the quantityof the at least one additive.

In another embodiment, the dispensing assembly of the portable,self-contained beverage apparatus includes a nest having a plurality ofnest apertures structured and arranged to receive and support vesselsretained in the apertures, and a pressure applicator provided proximateto at least one of the apertures, said pressure applicator applyingpressure to the vessel when it is retained in one of the apertures tocreate a dispensing event from the vessel.

In yet another embodiment, the portable, self-contained beverageapparatus further includes the vessels retained in the plurality ofapertures that contain the additives to be dispensed into the consumableliquid stored in the container assembly.

In another embodiment, the container assembly of the portable,self-contained beverage apparatus includes an outer sleeve, and an innerchamber slidably and removably fitted into said outer sleeve, said innerchamber being structured and arranged to receive the dispensing assemblyat a top end thereof, said inner chamber storing the consumable liquid.

Another embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a method ofcontrolling a portable, self-contained beverage apparatus including aninternally disposed dispensing assembly having a plurality of aperturesstructured and arranged to receive and retain vessels containing theadditives to be dispensed into the consumable liquid, the methodcomprising: storing capacity information indicating a storage capacityof the container assembly for storing a consumable liquid; determining aconsumable liquid level of a consumable liquid stored in the containerassembly using a sensor device disposed within the container assembly;and controlling the dispensing assembly to dispense variable, non-zeroquantities of additives from the vessels into the consumable liquidbased on the determined consumable liquid level of the consumable liquidand the storage capacity of the container.

In another embodiment, the method of controlling a portable,self-contained beverage apparatus further comprises: readingidentification information on vessels retained in the apertures; andcontrolling the dispensing by the dispensing assembly based on theidentification information.

In another embodiment, the method of controlling a portable,self-contained beverage apparatus further comprises: readingidentification information on vessels retained in the apertures; storingthe tracked consumable liquid level in the container assembly and thequantity of the at least one additive; sensing, using the sensor devicedisposed within the container assembly, the consumable liquid level atdifferent times; tracking the consumable liquid level in the containerassembly and the quantity of additives dispensed into the consumableliquid; and storing the identification information of each of thevessels retained in the apparatus in data association with the trackedconsumable liquid level and quantity of additives.

In another embodiment, the method of controlling a portable,self-contained beverage apparatus further comprises: controlling thedispensing by the dispensing assembly to achieve a targetedconcentration of at least one of the additives in the consumable liquidstored in the container assembly based on the consumable liquid level ofthe consumable liquid determined by the sensor device and the storedstorage capacity of the container assembly.

In another embodiment, the method of controlling a portable,self-contained beverage apparatus further comprises: sensing using thesensor device disposed within the container assembly, the consumableliquid level at different times; tracking the consumable liquid level inthe container assembly and the quantity of at least one additivedispensed into the consumable liquid; and storing the tracked consumableliquid level in the container assembly and the quantity of the at leastone additive.

In another embodiment, the method of controlling a portable,self-contained beverage apparatus further comprises: controlling thedispensing by the dispensing assembly to maintain the targetedconcentration of at least one of the additives in the consumable liquidstored in the container assembly based on tracked consumable liquidlevel and the quantity of the at least one additive.

In one or more other embodiments of the present disclosure, the methods,systems, and apparatus described herein may optionally include one ormore of the following additional features: the plurality of aperturesare positioned radially about the dispensing assembly; the plurality ofapertures is five apertures, each of the vessels includes a one-wayvalve through which the additive contained in the vessel is dispensedinto the consumable liquid stored in the container assembly; and/or eachof the vessels has a plurality of bellows formed in at least one sidewall of the vessel.

In accordance with at least one embodiment, provided is a portablehydration container having one or more electronic and/orelectro-mechanical modules (e.g., components, subsystems, etc.) that maymeasure and/or monitor the contents of the container, and/or act uponadditive vessels inserted or received in the container to dispense thecontents thereof. The modules are physically separable from thecontainer and from each other so as to allow for the container and othermodules and/or components to be washed without damage to the sensitiveelectronic components, or to replace or otherwise upgrade componentswithout necessitating complete replacement or upgrade.

Aspects of the present disclosure also relate to the functional form andconfiguration of the materials, shape, form, and valve mechanism of theaforementioned additive vessel inserted or received within the container(e.g., inserted or received in at least one aperture or chamber thatforms a part or portion of the container), enabling one or moreadditives contained in the additive vessel to be controllably dispensedinto the consumable contents of the container.

One or more other embodiments relate to a method for determining thelevel and/or volume of liquid or other substance within the portableliquid container using a level sensing device such as, for example, aninfrared receiver diode array, non-contact capacitive sensing arrays,ultrasonic sensor devices, sensors that include a pressure transducerand/or accelerometer, etc., in order to adjust the dispensing ofadditives and to control the resulting concentration of the additives inthe consumable liquid.

Also provided herein are methods for obtaining data about the contentsof the additive vessels inserted or received in the portable container.Aspects of the present disclosure also relate to methods, systems, andapparatuses for the accurate control of the selection of an additivevessel and accurate control of the amount of additive dispensedtherefrom, for example, when there are a number of separate additivevessels available and accessible within the container. Further aspectsof the disclosure relate to a system enabling a monitoring person, suchas, for example, a sports coach or medical professional, to dynamicallyadjust a dispensing schedule based on feedback data received from agroup of the containers (e.g., used in a context or setting wheremultiple individuals are involved in a common activity or share similarcircumstances).

As described above, one of the main limitations of existing portablebottles and other containers is that the consumable contents containedin such bottles and containers remain essentially unchanged other thanin their quantity. The utility of such bottles and containers may begreatly enhanced if the flavor, consistency, and/or the nutritional,chemical or other make-up of the consumable liquid could be altered oversome period of time (e.g., hourly, daily, etc.) and/or according to someother cycle based on, for example, the needs or desires of the user, inorder to optimize the health and well-being of the user. For example,the consumable liquid may be enhanced with an energy boosting supplementin the morning to facilitate alertness and focus, with vitaminsupplements throughout the day, and with a calming nutritionalsupplement at the end of the day to facilitate quality sleep. Such adaily cycle may be supplemented by an additional longer term cycle ofadditives dispensed on a weekly, bi-weekly, etc., basis or some othercustomized time-cycle. As well as nutritional supplements, it mayadditionally be desirable to dispense other types of substances oradditives such as, for example, vitamins, flavorings, pharmaceuticals,and the like, into the contents of portable containers in order tofurther optimize the health, hydration, recovery, and other benefits toa user, athlete, or patient.

Furthermore, mobile and wearable activity and fitness monitoringdevices, as well as remote applications, may communicate with and/orreceive data provided from portable bottles and other containers tocontrol and monitor liquid and/or additive consumption and to performother functions such as, for example, communicating a timely signal toportable and other containers to release all or a pre-defined amount ofan additive substance from one of the additive vessels into theconsumable contents of the container. Furthermore, such data mightmodify the dispensing protocol of the aforementioned additive vessels,in similar fashion, such data might function to recommend or otherwiseincentivize the discovery, purchase, and and/or consumption of theaforementioned additive vessels.

Since portable hydration containers may typically be filled in themorning and topped-off throughout the day as the liquid is consumed, itis neither practical nor desirable to require that a user fill multiplecompartments of a container with multiple different consumable liquidsor mixtures for consumption throughout the course of the day. Therefore,a more practical and desirable solution is to sequentially dispense aselection, sequence or combination of different additives from one ormore additive vessels into a consumable liquid at the appropriate timein response to a signal from a mobile or wearable device, processor orapplication. Neither is it desirable that a user have to carry aroundseparate additive vessels and insert them into the hydration containerwhen needed at various times throughout the day, as inferior,all-or-none dispensing approaches in the prior art dictate. Anillustrative example of such an additive delivery ecosystem is shown inFIG. 1.

A hydration system such as that illustrated in FIG. 1 and describesabove requires electrical, electromechanical, and electronic componentsto enable a number of functions. For example, measuring, monitoring oridentifying the amount of liquid in the container at any point in time,determining when the container has been refilled and/or measuring therate of consumption of the liquid consumable are desirable functions ofsuch a system and require sensing, processing, communication technologyand electronic components which generally have to be in close proximityto the liquid or other substance within the container in order tomonitor the quantity or level. The proximity and/or placement of theaforementioned systems and/or devices is sensitive, in many cases,regardless of whether or not the system directly, indirectly, orinferentially obtains such information. Similarly, electro-mechanicalcomponents and/or actuators may be required to dispense an additive intothe contents of the container.

In accordance with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure,such dispensing mechanisms may operate by having a repeatable force actupon the additive vessel, track dispensing actions, and obtain dataregarding the contents and dispensing protocol of the additive vessels.One having ordinary skill in the art will understand that such operatingmethods do not necessarily necessitate wholly electromechanicalapproaches, and in some cases may in fact benefit from a less automated,simple, or low-cost implementation. As will be described in greaterdetail herein, the methods, systems, and apparatus of the presentdisclosure utilize separate removable additive vessels, which can beacted upon to dispense all or a portion of (e.g., variable quantitiesof) the additive content into a consumable liquid contained (e.g.,stored) in the container, in a non-zero, continuously variable fashion.The methods, systems, and apparatus of the present disclosure alsoimprove upon existing approaches for creating consumable beverages byenabling full or partial dispensing of the additive from an additivevessel. This is in contrast to many existing approaches that are basedupon puncturing a seal or membrane and releasing all of the contents ofthe vessel or container, which can be used only once and which alsocannot be transferred to a second container and in many cases are alsonot suitable for recycling.

To maintain appropriate levels of user health and hygiene, it is alsonecessary for such bottles and containers to be periodically washed,including washing in dishwashers at water temperatures typically between120 and 150 degrees Fahrenheit. Though some commercial electronics mayhave an operational range up to, for example, 185 degrees Fahrenheit,repeated and sustained exposure to water at such temperatures would beharmful to the electronic components. Furthermore, to achieve desiredconsumption temperatures, or to maintain a desired consumptiontemperature, it may be desirable to refrigerate the liquid container, inwhich case repeated and sustained exposure to low temperatures andhumidity would be harmful to the electronic components. Though it isdesirable that these electronics components and sensors be in closeproximity to the liquid container for functional reasons, it is alsodesirable that they be fully separable to enable thorough washing orcooling of the liquid container.

A user will be drinking a consumable liquid from the container as neededand refilling it periodically, therefore the level in the container willvary over time. Thus, to achieve the correct concentration when anadditive is dispensed, the amount of liquid in the container at the timeof dispensing needs to be known and the amount of additive dispensedadjusted so that the resulting concentration is correct. A method forachieving this is disclosed.

The systems, methods, and apparatuses of the present disclosure aredesigned to include, enable, or otherwise account for the desirous andadvantageous features and functionalities described above. For example,one or more embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a liquidcontainer having a chamber for consumables which fits within an outersleeve. The chamber may be tapered in form and the sleeve may contain,among other things, sensors, electronic circuitry, mechanical and/orother water and/or temperature sensitive components. In accordance withat least one embodiment, the chamber and the sleeve may be clipped,attached, or otherwise held together in a secure manner, while alsobeing easily separable from one another by a user.

In accordance with one or more embodiments, the liquid container mayalso include a removable lid containing water sensitive and/ortemperature sensitive electronic or mechanical components. The waterand/or temperature sensitive components may also be easily separablefrom the liquid container and from the removable lid.

As will be described in greater detail below, the apparatuses andsystems of the present disclosure are designed to facilitate theseparation of the water/temperature sensitive modules from thenon-water/temperature sensitive modules in order that the latter can bewashed or autoclaved, be placed in a refrigerator, or be heated in amicrowave oven, and the like.

One embodiment of the apparatuses and systems described herein relatesto the accurate positioning of the sensing or other measuring componentsrelative to the liquid chamber in order to maintain accurate andconsistent sensing and/or to enable the accurate positioning ofmechanical components or actuators which may act upon an additive vesselor the liquid chamber or the contents thereof.

In another embodiment, the apparatus described herein facilitates theindependent replacement of one or a plurality of modules without theneed to replace all modules, in a scenario where one or more of saidmodules were to need replacement to continue functioning as designed.

As will also be described in greater detail below, one or moreembodiments of the present disclosure relates to a liquid containerassembly comprising integrated or separable modules containing one ormore infrared (IR) emitting sources and also integrated or separablemodules consisting of one or a plurality of infrared receiving sources(e.g., emitting and/or receiving diodes). The IR source(s) mayperiodically or continuously emit an IR signal that is detected by theIR receiving diodes. Since the fluid in the container attenuates the IRradiation, the level of fluid within the container can then be inferredby measuring the different signal strengths detected at each of the IRreceiver diodes. In at least one embodiment, a less nuanced measurementdetects the peak difference between any two adjacent sensors to measureor otherwise infer the water-line, and therefore, the volume. As such,the methods, systems, and apparatuses of the present disclosure aredesigned to enable the determination of the level or volume of fluidwithin the container.

In accordance with one or more embodiments, the methods, systems, andapparatus described herein may optionally include or becapable/configured to perform one or more of the following: determine arate of consumption of the fluid or liquid within the container;communicate data to a processor with regard to the level and/or rate ofconsumption of the fluid or liquid within the container; determine whenthe container is empty and/or when it is re-filled; infer the level ofconcentration of additives in the liquid within the container; determinereceived signal levels when the container is full and when it is emptyin order to calibrate the system and compensate for varying levels ofenvironmental or user-generated interference.

In accordance with one or more embodiments, the methods, systems, andapparatus of the present disclosure are designed to operate with orinclude a vessel or container, from which all or a portion of thecontents (e.g., additives) contained therein can be dispensed through avalve when mechanical pressure is applied to the vessel, either viaelectromechanical means or through “manual” means (e.g., where the forceis provided controllably by the user via a mechanical interface). Theshape and form of the vessel may be recoverable to the shape and formpossessed prior to the dispensing event caused by the application ofmechanical pressure, for the purpose of equilibration as it relates toreliability and/or repeatability of the desired dispensing function. Aswill be described in greater detail below, a valve mechanism permitsvessel contents to pass outward and prevents liquid contents of thecontainer to pass inwards. Such a feature provides for the controlled,unidirectional ingress and/or egress of the contents of the additivevessel.

In at least one embodiment, the valve mechanism is designed to permitair to pass inwards to equalize pressure when mechanical pressure isreleased following a dispensing event. In contrast to the valve's rolein the controllably unidirectional dispensing of an additive, inaccordance with at least one embodiment, the valve also functions tocontrollably allow for air to bidirectionally flow from either side ofthe valve to equilibrate the vessel.

As will be described in greater detail below, the additive vessel can beremoved from the consumable container and stored, the vessel may bere-inserted into the same container, into a different aperture, or maybe inserted in a second container irrespective of how full or empty theadditive vessel is. In accordance with at least one embodiment, dataassociated with the vessel informs the dispensing system(s) of thevessel's capacity status and/or other important information relevant tothe user, the system, and/or the apparatus.

The additive vessel may be refillable and reusable. For example, in atleast one embodiment, the additive vessel is recyclable, and configuredin such a way as to prevent or otherwise discourage end-userrefilling/reusing. In another example, the additive vessel may berecyclable following the removal of the dispensing nozzle.

One or more embodiments of the present disclosure relates to aconsumable container having a dispensing module assembly with a numberof apertures into which the above described additive vessels can beinserted by a user. Each of these additive vessels has a passive RFIDtag attached to the vessel, oriented toward the central axis of theconsumable container. An RFID antenna is mounted on the surface of arotatable dispensing module located on the central axis of theconsumable container and, when aligned to an additive vessel, accessesdata about the contents of the additive vessel from the RFID tag.Therefore, the methods, systems, and apparatuses of the presentdisclosure are also designed to access data about the contents of anindividual additive vessel within a consumable container. In accordancewith at least one embodiment, the antenna and/or other read and/or writecapable data modality is oriented in such a way so as to necessitateonly one system, as opposed to a static modality that might require aunique instance of the modality on each unique aperture. One havingordinary skill in the art will recognize that although a passive datasystem such as RFID is ideal due to its passive nature, read/writecapability, and low-cost, that functionally, other methods couldaccomplish similar results, including but not limited to physicalkey-based methods, or optical methods.

In accordance with one or more embodiments, the methods, systems, andapparatus described herein may optionally include or becapable/configured to perform one or more of the following: sequentiallyaccess data about the contents of several additive vessels within aconsumable container; ensure that the data accessed relates to only oneof several proximally positioned vessels within the consumablecontainer; and/or communicate that data to a processor or applicationwithin or external to the consumable container (such as a user's mobiledevice, etc.)

One or more embodiments of the present disclosure additionally relate toa system for the automatic and/or on-demand dispensing of a full orpartial amount of one or a plurality of additive substances into theconsumable contents of a portable container.

Another feature of the methods, systems, and apparatuses describedherein is to enable additive vessels to be removable from the dispensingmodule at any time (e.g., when the additive vessel is not yet empty),stored and/or replaced in the dispensing module for continued use, ortransferred to the dispensing module of a second container.

Another feature of the methods, systems, and apparatuses describedherein is a means to identify the additive vessel and its contents via aread/writeable tag and to communicate, or make available thisinformation to a processor.

Another feature of the methods, systems, and apparatuses describedherein is to write information to a read/writeable tag on an additivevessel in order that the information may be transferable with theadditive vessel to additional, separate containers or systems.

Another feature of the methods, systems, and apparatuses describedherein is to receive data associated with the user of a container and touse this preference or other data as a parameter in the controlledrelease of additives into the consumable.

Another feature of the methods, systems, and apparatuses describedherein is to determine when the number or configuration of additivevessels has been changed and to identify and communicate data about thechanged configuration to a processor or application.

One or more embodiments of the present disclosure relates to anapparatus comprising two small DC motors operating via planetary-geardrivetrains to rotate and position a dispensing module and, via arack-and-pinion mechanism, provide linear motion to a pressureapplicator acting on an additive vessel to controllably apply pressureand dispense all or a portion of the contents of the additive vessel(e.g., into a container containing a liquid consumable).

As will be described in greater detail below, the methods, systems, andapparatuses of the present disclosure are designed to accurately controlthe rotational position of a pressure applicator. In accordance with atleast one embodiment, a rotation sensor/rotary potentiometer encodesposition. Those of ordinary skill in the art will understand thatsimilar results could be accomplished with more passive, inferentialmechanisms, such as, for example, a hall effect/reed-switch interface.

In accordance with one or more embodiments described herein, themethods, systems, and apparatuses of the present disclosure are alsodesigned to accurately control the linear motion of a pressureapplicator and thereby the amount of pressure applied to an additivevessel.

In accordance with one or more embodiments, the methods, systems, andapparatus described herein may optionally include or becapable/configured to perform one or more of the following: measurerotational and linear motions, and to provide confirmatory feedback thatthe correct amount of motion and/or pressure has been applied by theapparatus; rotate the dispensing module to scan all vessels in responseto a sensor detecting that the lid or top has been opened and/or closed;and/or read data from an RFID or similar tag on the additive vessel toconfirm alignment of the pressure applicator with the correct additivevessel.

An application controlling the additive dispensing may beneficially haveAPI-based connectivity to other applications on the users' mobile deviceand/or access to web services to access contextual data which may beused to further control or influence dispensing and/or to generatefuture purchase recommendations based on user context, consumption,and/or activities. As such, in accordance with one or more embodiments,the methods, systems, and apparatuses of the present disclosure aredesigned to access data about a user's location, activity, andenvironmental context, and to influence or adjust the dispensing ofadditives in accordance with the needs of that context.

Another feature is to determine the geo-location of the user anddetermine whether the dispensing of additives should be adjusted basedon some aspect or aspects of this location (e.g., home, gym, office,etc.). One learned in the art will understand that such data, working toinform or otherwise guide a dispensing system, could be directlyextrapolated or indirectly inferred.

Another feature is to determine the speed of motion of the user anddetermine whether the dispensing of additives should be adjusted basedon this activity (e.g. walking, cycling, running). This data mightfurther operate to corroborate supporting data feeds, such as thoseprovided by wearable activity trackers and the like.

Another feature is to combine the user's location and the user's speedof motion to predict whether a user is indoors or outdoors and, ifoutdoors, to access weather, temperature and humidity data and adjustthe dispensing of additives according to the needs of thoseenvironmental conditions. Such contextual data associated with ambientconditions relevant to dispensing events and/or additive recommendationsor purchase does not necessarily need to relate to the user's physicalmovements however.

In accordance with one or more embodiments, the methods, systems, andapparatus described herein may optionally include or becapable/configured to perform one or more of the following: measure thelevel of liquid in the container and adjust the amount of additivedispensed in order to achieve a targeted level of concentration of theadditive in the liquid contained in the container; block or postpone adispensing event if the container is empty or insufficiently filled;block or postpone dispensing an additive if the container has not beenrefilled since a previous dispensing of the same additive; triggerdispensing if the container is partially emptied and then refilled so asto maintain a targeted level of additive concentration; block, postpone,or otherwise modify dispensing based upon measured or inferredtemperature of the solute, specifically as such data might relate to thesolubility of an additive; adjust the amount of additive dispensed basedon user preferences and/or user activity, location, environment orcontext of use; and/or block, postpone, or otherwise modify dispensingbased upon prior consumption data, either specific to the device, or ascollected from a complementary and/or supporting data source based uponsome hourly, daily, or weekly limit or goal, such as food-logging datasystems and the like.

In one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the consumableliquid container may include an array of independently controllable(e.g., by a processor of the container), addressable LEDs, whereby thestate (e.g., on/off) of the LEDs can be controlled, and the brightness,color output, flash frequency, and other parameters can be varied inorder to communicate information to the user. For example, the LEDs maybe controlled to display a pattern and/or temporal sequence of colorswhich communicates information to a viewer. In another example, the LEDsmay be controlled to flash the illuminants with a range of frequenciesto communicate information to a viewer. Such an implementation mayfunction primarily as a symbolic user interface. In one example, itmight initiate an LED behavior to remind the user to hydrate. In anotherexample, it might initiate another LED behavior to confirm an action.

As will be described in greater detail below, the methods, systems, andapparatus of the present disclosure are also designed to presentinformation to a user regarding the additives consumed and/or remainingin the vessels inserted in the hydration container. For example, inaccordance with one or more embodiments, the portable container maydisplay (e.g., on a user interface screen of the container) informationor generate an alert to the user when one or more of the additivevessels inserted in the hydration container is, or will soon becomeempty. In another example, the container may be configured to predict afuture date when one or more of the additive vessels inserted in thehydration container will become empty. Such a feature serves torecommend and/or automate future purchases. Such a system might alsofunction to adjust or otherwise modify dispensing protocol to ensurethat the additive does not become depleted on or before a targeted time.

In accordance with one or more embodiments, the methods, systems, andapparatus described herein may optionally include or becapable/configured to perform one or more of the following: correlatedepletion information of additive vessels with purchase history andprevious rate of consumption to ascertain when a user will run out ofsupplies of the additive vessel irrespective of whether they arecurrently inserted in the container; enable the user to orderreplacement additive vessels by adding to their shopping cart on aneCommerce site through some type of user action (e.g., pressing a buttonon the container, interacting with an associated application, etc.).

In accordance with at least one embodiment, the methods, systems, andapparatuses may be designed to provide for direct or indirectcommunication of an instruction from a central control application to aconsumable container. Such a direct or indirect communication may be,for example, an instruction to dispense an additive, may include adispensing schedule and/or protocol, or may indicate that an additive(e.g., medication, pharmaceutical, or the like) has, or has not, beendispensed by the dispensing apparatus within the container. Dataassociated with the dispensing event (or lack thereof) might also becollected and communicated directly or indirectly between the dispensingdevice and the aforementioned central control application. In accordancewith at least one embodiment, Bluetooth low energy may be used as theprimary transmission method of such data.

In accordance with one or more embodiments, data may be communicatedfrom a container that an additive (e.g., medication, pharmaceutical, orother additive) has, or has not, been added to the consumable contentsof the container; data may be communicated from a container that theconsumable contents of the container have been fully consumed, partiallyconsumed, or not consumed. Direct or indirect mechanisms might furthercorroborate or invalidate such information directly or inferentially(e.g. the user has dumped the contents, as opposed to properly consumingthem).

Also provided are a method and apparatus for the precise andcontinuously variable dispensing of a removable additive vessel throughthe use of a discretely adjustable piston or actuator, the keyadjustment variable being stroke length (and therefore displacementvolume) by the user, which then by the user's input (in the preferreddisclosure's use case, the user's finger) translates into a dispensingevent that is precise and repeatable. Passive electronics measuringwhich additive vessel, and what dispensing quantity, and how manydispensing events are initiated could log the user's consumptionactivity and behaviors.

Embodiments of some or all of the systems and apparatuses disclosedherein may also be configured to perform some or all of the methodsdescribed above and in greater detail below. Embodiments of some or allof the methods disclosed herein may also be represented as instructionsembodied on transitory or non-transitory processor-readable storagemedia such as optical or magnetic memory or represented as a propagatedsignal provided to a processor or data processing device via acommunication network such as, for example, an Internet or telephoneconnection.

Further scope of applicability of the systems, apparatuses, and methodsof the present disclosure will become apparent from the DetailedDescription given below. However, it should be understood that theDetailed Description and specific examples, while indicating embodimentsof the systems, apparatuses, and methods, are given by way ofillustration only, since various changes and modifications within thespirit and scope of the concepts disclosed herein will become apparentto those skilled in the art from this Detailed Description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other objects, features, advantages, and characteristics ofthe present disclosure will become more apparent to those skilled in theart upon consideration of the following Detailed Description, taken inconjunction with the accompanying claims and drawings, all of which forma part of the present disclosure. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example high-level hydrationecosystem according to one or more embodiments described herein.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example container assembly according to one ormore embodiments described herein.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a container assembly with top coverremoved according to one or more embodiments described herein.

FIG. 4 illustrates an exploded view of the example container assemblyshown in FIG. 2 according to one or more embodiments described herein.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example arrangement of an infrared emitter andinfrared receivers according to one or more embodiments describedherein.

FIG. 6 illustrates another example arrangement of an infrared emitterand infrared receivers according to one or more embodiments describedherein.

FIGS. 7A and 7B are schematic diagrams illustrating an example processof determining a fluid level in a container assembly having thearrangement of an infrared emitter and infrared receivers shown in FIG.6 according to one or more embodiments described herein.

FIG. 8 illustrates another example arrangement of an infrared emitterand infrared receivers according to one or more embodiments describedherein.

FIGS. 9A and 9B are schematic diagrams illustrating an example processof determining a fluid level in a container assembly having thearrangement of an infrared emitter and infrared receivers shown in FIG.8 according to one or more embodiments described herein.

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example fluid leveldetection system according to one or more embodiments described herein.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating an example process for determining alevel of liquid within a container according to one or more embodimentsdescribed herein.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating an example process for determining arate of consumption of liquid within a container according to one ormore embodiments described herein.

FIG. 13 is a graphic representation of the electromagnetic spectrumabsorption characteristics of water.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of an example additive vessel with ridgedsidewalls according to one or more embodiments described herein.

FIG. 15 is a perspective view of an example additive vessel withnon-ridged sidewalls according to one or more embodiments describedherein.

FIGS. 16A and 16B are top and bottom views of an example additive vesselwith ridged sidewalls according to one or more embodiments describedherein.

FIG. 17 is a perspective view of an example dispensing module assemblywith several additive vessels having non-ridged sidewalls removablymounted therein according to one or more embodiments described herein.

FIG. 18 is a perspective view of an example dispensing module assemblywith several additive vessels having ridged sidewalls removably mountedtherein according to one or more embodiments described herein.

FIG. 19 illustrates an example nozzle assembly that interfaces anadditive vessel to a dispensing assembly according to one or moreembodiments described herein.

FIGS. 20A and 20B are cross-sectional views of an example nozzleassembly that may be used with or included as part of an additive vesselaccording to one or more embodiments described herein.

FIGS. 21A and 21B are side and rear elevational views of an additivevessel with an identification tag mounted thereon according to one ormore embodiments described herein.

FIG. 22 is a block diagram illustrating example data communicationswithin a data access system according to one or more embodimentsdescribed herein.

FIG. 23 is a flowchart illustrating an example process for identifying acontainer and accessing data about the contents of the container andabout a user of the container according to one or more embodimentsdescribed herein.

FIG. 24 is a data flow diagram illustrating example data flows betweencomponents of a hydration system and a user device in accordance withone or more embodiments described herein.

FIG. 25 is a cross-sectional view of a dispensing module assembly withadditive vessels removably retained therein according to one or moreembodiments described herein.

FIG. 26 is an elevational view of a dispensing module according to oneor more embodiments described herein.

FIG. 27 is a top view of the dispensing module shown in FIG. 26,including a pressure applicator rack and pinion mechanism according toone or more embodiments described herein.

FIG. 28 is a perspective view of the dispensing module shown in FIG. 26according to one or more embodiments described herein.

FIG. 29 is a bottom perspective view of the dispensing module shown inFIG. 26, including a dispensing motor and mechanism according to one ormore embodiments described herein.

FIG. 30 is a flowchart illustrating an example process for controllablyreleasing a quantity of an additive according to one or more embodimentsdescribed herein.

FIG. 31 is a data flow diagram illustrating example data flows betweencomponents of a hydration system according to one or more embodimentsdescribed herein.

FIG. 32 is a block diagram illustrating an example system for obtainingand using contextual data according to one or more embodiments describedherein.

FIG. 33 is a flowchart illustrating an example process for obtainingenvironmental and contextual data about a user of a portable containeraccording to one or more embodiments described herein.

FIG. 34 is a block diagram illustrating example data communicationsbetween components of a hydration system according to one or moreembodiments described herein.

FIG. 35 is a flowchart illustrating an example process for determining alevel of a consumable liquid and adjusting an amount of additivedispensed into the consumable liquid according to one or moreembodiments described herein.

FIG. 36 is a data flow diagram illustrating example data flows betweencomponents of a hydration system according to one or more embodimentsdescribed herein.

FIG. 37 is a perspective view of a container with multiple communicationmeans for communicating information to a user according to one or moreembodiments described herein.

FIG. 38 is a top view of the container shown in FIG. 37 according to oneor more embodiments described herein.

FIGS. 39A and 39B illustrate examples of a visual display and userinterface controls for a portable container according to one or moreembodiments described herein.

FIG. 40 is a flowchart illustrating an example process for a productordering transaction according to one or more embodiments describedherein.

FIG. 41 is a data flow diagram illustrating example data flows betweencomponents of a hydration system and a user portal according to one ormore embodiments described herein.

FIG. 42 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a closed groupsystem according to one or more embodiments described herein.

FIG. 43 is a flowchart illustrating an example process for monitoringadditive consumption within a closed group of containers according toone or more embodiments described herein.

FIG. 44 is a data flow diagram illustrating example data communicationsbetween a central controller, a monitoring application, and a portablecontainer according to one or more embodiments described herein.

FIG. 45 is a flowchart illustrating an example process for controlling aportable, self-contained beverage apparatus according to one or moreembodiments described herein.

FIGS. 46A and 46B illustrate a beverage container assembly in accordancewith one or more additional embodiments.

FIG. 47 illustrates a view of a dispensing assembly with a beveragechamber housing removed.

FIGS. 48A and 48B illustrate a bottom view of the dispensing assemblywith a base cover removed.

FIGS. 49A and 49B illustrate an isometric perspective view and a crosssection cutaway view of an additive container in accordance with oneembodiment.

FIGS. 50 and 50A-C illustrate a cutaway cross section of the dispensingassembly showing the operation of a pumping mechanism for an additivecontainer.

FIGS. 51A and 51B illustrate views a drive mechanism for actuating areceptacle and associated piston of a pumping mechanism.

FIGS. 52A and 52B illustrate an elevation view of the drive mechanismwith the receptacle in a starting position and in a withdrawn position.

FIG. 53 illustrates a cross section of an internally threaded toothedring engaged with a threaded extension of a pump housing.

FIGS. 54A, 54B and 54C illustrate three cross sectional cutaway views ofa dispensing assembly.

FIGS. 55A-B illustrate isometric and cutaway views of a removable cap.

FIG. 56 illustrates a cutaway view of a pumping mechanism in accordancewith one embodiment.

FIG. 57A illustrates a cutaway view of a receptacle of the embodiment ofFIG. 56, but shown from a different perspective rotated 90 degreesaround a vertical axis.

FIGS. 57B and 57C illustrate a seal placed in a shoulder portion of thereceptacle that serves a vacuum breaker function as an additivecontainer is withdrawn from the receptacle.

FIGS. 58A-D illustrate different configurations of containers, vesselsor pods for liquid additives that can be used in accordance with variousembodiments.

FIG. 59 illustrates a simplified positive displacement pumping mechanismthat can be used with various actuation mechanisms in accordance withvarious embodiments.

The headings provided herein are for convenience only and do notnecessarily affect the scope or meaning of what is claimed in thepresent disclosure.

In the drawings, the same reference numerals and any acronyms identifyelements or acts with the same or similar structure or functionality forease of understanding and convenience. The drawings will be described indetail in the course of the following Detailed Description.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description, references are made to various embodimentsin accordance with which the disclosed subject matter can be practiced.Multiple references to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” do notnecessarily refer to the same embodiment. Particular features,structures or characteristics associated with such embodiments can becombined in any suitable manner in various embodiments. References arealso made to the accompanying drawings in which the same referencenumbers are used throughout to refer to the same or like components.

Various examples and embodiments will now be described. The followingdescription provides specific details for a thorough understanding andenabling description of these examples. One skilled in the relevant artwill understand, however, that one or more embodiments described hereinmay be practiced without many of these details. Likewise, one skilled inthe relevant art will also understand that one or more embodiments ofthe present disclosure can include many other obvious features notdescribed in detail herein. Additionally, some well-known structures orfunctions may not be shown or described in detail below, so as to avoidunnecessarily obscuring the relevant description.

In view of the above, it is therefore desirable for a portable hydrationcontainer or bottle to have included within it, a number of separatevessels containing various additives such as, for example, vitamins orpharmaceuticals, and the like, which may be chosen and inserted withinthe hydration container by the user in various different combinations,such that some of the beverages, functional beverages, vitamins,pharmaceuticals, etc., could be periodically dispensed into the liquidcontents of the container when required or desired, and consumed by theuser.

Such a hydration apparatus or system may communicate with an application(e.g., mobile telephone application, computer program, etc.) thatcontrols and monitors the additive dispensing from the vessels, andadjusts or otherwise modifies the dispensing of those additivesaccording to real-time environmental and contextual variables. Hydrationsystems and containers such as those described herein also need to beperiodically washed or sterilized in order to maintain hygiene levelsand to avoid or eliminate cross-contamination between differentadditives. Furthermore, when a container assembly includes sensitiveelectronics, it is also beneficial to design the apparatus in such a waythat washing, cleaning, or sterilization can be carried out withoutundue risk of damage to the electronic components.

As will be described in greater detail below, the methods, systems, andapparatus of the present disclosure may utilize and/or include anadditive vessel designed to be easily compressible under mechanicalpressure, in order to dispense the additive contents, and which readilyrecovers its original shape and form in order to facilitate a subsequentdispensing event and/or multiple dispensing events. The additive vesselis designed for repeatable, controllable, consistent, and predictableejection of its contents, thereby enabling the dispensing of variable,non-zero quantities of an additive (e.g., into a liquid consumablecontained in a container).

Furthermore, the amount of consumable within such a portable hydrationcontainer will vary over time as it is consumed. As such, the methods,systems, and apparatus of the present disclosure are capable of varyingand/or adjusting the amount of additive to be dispensed into theconsumable in order to achieve or maintain a targeted (e.g., optimal) ordesired level of concentration of the additive (or additives) in theconsumable. In addition, the consumption behaviors of the user relatedto hydration and the consumption of additives and the like would benefitfrom tracking and level measurement to provide apparatus-level contextfor non-zero dispensing, but also for the overall tracking andrecommendation of additives and/or additive vessels, present and future.

Furthermore, since such hydration containers are portable and may becarried around to many different places, it would also be beneficial toa user if they could periodically re-order products from an online(e.g., eCommerce, and/or Mobile Application) website, and replenishtheir supplies of additives, vitamins, etc., directly from the containerin which they are used, or from an associated mobile device, at any timeand irrespective of the user's location. In addition, while hydrationcontainers such as those described herein are of considerable value toan individual user, a collection of such containers may also be used bya group of users with common interests, such as, for example, a sportsteam, patients in a medical facility or assisted-living home,participants in clinical trials of a drug, and the like. In suchinstances it may be of considerable additional value to control,monitor, or otherwise coordinate the dispensing of additives bothindividually and/or collectively, and/or to monitor the consumption ofconsumables and additives individually and/or collectively. Thefollowing description of examples and embodiments of the methods,systems, and apparatus of the present disclosure provides additionaldetails about many of the above features and functions.

FIG. 1 shows an illustrative block diagram of an overall ecosystemwithin which one or more embodiments of the present disclosure hasapplication and/or may be implemented. FIG. 1 includes a container 100,generally but not necessarily portable, that may contain a consumable(e.g., a liquid) into which liquid, powder, and/or other forms ofconsumable additives may be dispensed from one or more separateremovable additive vessels 101. Data about the additives within eachvessel 101 may be encoded within an RFID or similar active or passivetype tag 102 mounted on or otherwise attached to the additive vessel101. Such data about the additives contained within the vessels 101 canbe read from the RFID or similar type tag 102 by, for example, an RFIDor similar-type antenna that is a component of the container 100. Forexample, in accordance with at least one embodiment, the container 100may include an RFID antenna (not shown) that rotates around a centralaxis of the container 100 to individually and/or sequentially read datafrom additive vessels 101 inserted in a circular arrangement around thecentral axis of the hydration container. In this manner, data about theadditives contained in the additive vessels 101 may be collected,analyzed, and/or communicated by the container 100 (e.g., by a processorand/or other components of the container 100), and made available to oneor more user devices 106, local storage 105, remote network storage 107and the like. Such information may also be presented to the user bymeans of a display 111 mounted on the container and/or by means of adisplay on the user's mobile device 106.

Furthermore, in accordance with one or more embodiments, an infrared LEDemitter/receiver implementation 103 and an array of infrared LEDreceivers 104 may be mounted within or adjacent to the chamber withinwhich a consumable liquid may be stored (e.g., contained). Theemitter/receiver 103 and the infrared receivers 104 may be configured todetermine the level, volume, or quantity (e.g., the amount) of liquidconsumable in the container 100 at any given time. As such, data aboutthe consumable liquid in the chamber of the container 100 may becollected, analyzed, and/or communicated by the container 100 (e.g., bya processor and/or other components of the container 100), and madeavailable to one or more user devices 106, local storage 105, remotenetwork storage 107 and the like. Such information may also beexplicitly or implicitly presented to the user by means of a display 111mounted on the container and/or by means of a display on the user'smobile device 106. Volumetric implications of a non-linear container areaccounted for with firmware/software level calculations and/ortransformations (e.g. sensor point #3 corresponds to a volume of 16 oz.etc.)

Data about a user of the container 100 may be accessible to and/orobtainable by the container (e.g., by a processor or other component ofthe container 100). For example, the container 100 may receive (e.g.,retrieve, access, request, or otherwise obtain) data about the user thatis stored, for example, in one or more databases or storage devices 105local to the user, within an application residing on a device of theuser 106 (e.g., a portable user device, such as a cellular telephone,smartphone, personal data assistant, laptop or tablet computer, etc.),and/or in network/cloud data storage 107, 108. In accordance with atleast one embodiment of the present disclosure, the data about the usermay include, for example, user demographic information (e.g., age,gender, weight, body mass index (BMI), address, occupation etc.),additive purchase history information, additive usage historyinformation, charge/payment information for purchases, medical and/orprescription history and various other data associated with the user oractions or behaviors of the user. User data may also include sports andfitness activities, fitness schedule/regime, dietarypreferences/requirements, allergies, sensitivities, workout scheduleand/or preferred locations for fitness training etc. In this manner,such data about the user of the container 100 may be collected,analyzed, and/or communicated by the container 100 (e.g., by a processorand/or other components of the container 100), and made available to thedevice of the user 106, to one or more other devices of the user, to theone or more databases or storage devices 105 local to the user, to thenetwork/cloud data storage 107, 108, and the like. Such data may becommunicated to, and received from, a user device by means of localwireless network 109 and further communicated to or from the cloud fromthe user device by means of wide area wireless network 110. It may alsobe communicated by means of Wi-Fi and/or other wired or wirelesscommunications methods known in the art. Such information may also bepresented to the user (graphically or symbolically) by means of adisplay 111 mounted on the container and/or by means of a display on theuser's mobile device 106.

Furthermore, one or more APIs (Application Programming Interfaces), orother data sharing mechanisms, from a mobile device applicationassociated with, and controlling the container 100 may interface withand access contextual/context data from other applications running on adevice of the user (e.g., user device 106), where such context data mayinclude, but is not limited to, geo-location, time, date, weatherconditions, temperature, personal schedule (e.g., from a calendarapplication), travel schedule of the user etc. APIs or other datasharing mechanisms to third party applications may also be used by thecontainer 100 to access user data about the current or past physicalactivity of the user. For example, data may be obtained from a varietyof existing or future personal physical activity tracking/monitoringdevices or applications (e.g., Fitbit, Apple Health-Kit, MyFitnessPal,etc.), any of which may furnish various data related to the physicalactivity of the user. Some non-limiting examples of the type of datathat may be obtained from such physical activity tracking/monitoringdevices include data about the type of physical activity undertaken bythe user, the number of steps taken by the user during a period of time,speed of motion, estimated energy expenditure (e.g., calories burned),heart rate and the like. Accordingly, data about the user's physicalactivity levels and activity history may be collected, analyzed, and/orcommunicated by the container 100 (e.g., by a processor and/or othercomponents of the container 100).

All or a portion of the data described above may be communicated to orotherwise retrieved by one or more processors which may be locatedwithin the consumable container 100 or external to the consumablecontainer (e.g., in the user's mobile device 106, in the cloud network108, etc.), where various combinations, instances, and/ortransformations of that data may be analyzed and used to derive morespecific and focused patterns and trends about a user's behaviorpatterns, activity patterns, additive and consumable purchase andconsumption patterns, personal preferences, health and fitness regimeand the like.

In accordance with one or more embodiments, the container (e.g.,container 100 in the example system shown in FIG. 1) of the presentdisclosure may consist of multiple modules. It should be understood thatalthough various examples and features are described in the context of acontainer comprising an assembly of a single liquid chamber and threeseparate electronic and/or mechanical modules, the scope of the presentdisclosure is in no way limited to such a configuration. Instead, inaccordance with one or more embodiments, the container may include oneor a plurality of chambers for containing a liquid consumable, and/orone or a plurality of electronic and/or mechanical modules containingone or more components which are water-sensitive and/ortemperature-sensitive. For example, one separable electronic module mayhave wholly housed within it, a component which is not necessarily wateror temperature sensitive and requires separation for sufficientwashing/sterilization.

In accordance with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, acontainer assembly (e.g., container 100 in the example system shown inFIG. 1) may consist of multiple modules, including a consumablecontainer, a separable outer sleeve, a separable lid or cover and aninner dispensing module.

FIG. 2 shows a container for consumables 100 comprising a removable topportion or lid 112. A dispensing assembly 113 comprising sensitiveelectronic components fits within the top portion of the consumablecontainer thereby using gravity to aid in the dispensing and/or generalstatic-equilibration of additives from the additive vessels (not shown)into the consumable in the container and providing easy user access toadd, change or configure additive vessels by removal of the lid 112. Thedispensing assembly 113 comprises a series of apertures into whichadditive vessels can be inserted by a user. In the current embodiment,five apertures are arranged in a circle, however this is not alimitation, as it should be obvious that a wide range of configurationsand aperture quantities are possible. The container 100 is also equippedwith a display 111 which may, in some embodiments, display informationabout the user of the container, the contents of the additive vessels,the contents of the container, and/or the amount, volume or rates ofconsumption of the additive vessel contents and/or the containercontents. The container 100 also has one or a plurality of buttons 116for user input of dispensing instructions and other functions, in thecurrent embodiment two buttons are configured for navigation andselection, however this is not a limitation, as it should be obviousthat a wide range of interfaces and implementations thereof arepossible. The container is equipped with an internal sensor (not visiblein FIG. 2) appropriately positioned and configured to detect when thelid or top portion 112 is removed and/or replaced, in the preferredembodiment this may be a Hall Effect sensor however this is not alimitation and many other methods known in the art may be used to detectwhen the top portion is removed or replaced or when additive vessels arechanged, a further example might specify a reed-switch, or a contactswitch, to accomplish the same result. The container also comprises aconsumable chamber 114 removably fitted within an outer sleeve 115,which may contain electronic or other components for determining thelevel or amount of consumable in the chamber 114. The electroniccomponents may be powered by a battery 117 in the base of the sleeve,the battery in the present embodiment being inductively charged whenplaced on a charging coaster 118.

FIG. 3 shows an example of the container assembly 100 with the top coverremoved, the dispensing module partially visible and the chargingcoaster separated. The assembly consists of a chamber 114 containing aconsumable liquid (e.g. water) which slide-ably fits within an outersleeve 115, the outer sleeve containing an IR sensor array or othersensor technology (such as a non-contact capacitive sensing PCB strip)used to measure the level of consumable in the adjacent chamber 114. Inorder to accurately and reliably measure the liquid level, the removableouter sleeve has to be accurately positioned relative to the consumablecontainer. The outer sleeve may also comprise user interface componentsincluding a display 111 and pushbuttons 116. The outer sleeve 115therefore contains sensitive electronic components and is separable fromthe consumable container 114 in order that the consumable container canbe washed or otherwise sanitized. Temperature and/or water sensitivecomponents may be located or moulded within the sleeve and/or may bewithin the sides and/or the bottom of the sleeve.

A dispensing module assembly 113 may also comprise of temperature and/orwater sensitive electronic or mechanical components and may be separablylocated within the container 100 and secured in place and sealed furtheragainst leakage by a separable lid or cover 112 which fits over thedispensing module assembly 113. The removable lid 112 (which does notcontain sensitive electronics) covers and secures (but is not attachedto) the electro-mechanical dispensing module 113 which does comprise ofsensitive electronic and electro-mechanical components. The dispensingmodule 113 consists of both electronic and moving mechanical componentsand may therefore be damaged by temperature extremes, water, humidity,and mechanical shock, it may be totally separable from the lid so thatthe lid 112 can be washed. The dispensing module also comprisesmechanical actuators which move to apply mechanical pressure to theadditive vessels contained therein and dispense the contents of theadditive vessels. Accurate positioning of the mechanical actuator isnecessary, and it is important that the moulding which retains andpositions the additive vessels does not get damaged or warped by hotwater.

FIG. 4 shows an exploded diagram of a number of modules forming acontainer assembly, in accordance with one or more embodiments describedherein. An outer sleeve 115 which contains sensitive electroniccomponents, is separable from an inner chamber 114 enabling the latterto be washed in a dishwasher or the like. Tapering the outer sleeve 115enables the tapered inner chamber 114 to be positioned within the outersleeve and to clip securely within it at 119. Secure clipping of thechamber 114 within the sleeve 115 enables sensing components located inan enclosed cavity 120 to be accurately positioned in relation to thechamber 114 and the chamber contents, this being required for accurateand reliable sensing or measurement of the level of, or amount ofchamber contents. Such sensing components include, but are not limitedto LEDs, infrared emitters and/or sensors, magnetic sensors, capacitivesensing arrays, visual sensors etc. Such sensors may also be positionedon an inner surface of the sleeve.

In accordance with at least one embodiment, the cover or lid module 112may additionally have passing through it, a drinking channel 122 whichmay additionally be separable from the lid and/or cover 112 to enablewashing. The drinking channel 122 may be part of the dispensing moduleassembly 113, may be part of another component or module of thecontainer, or may be a separate component of the container altogether.The dispensing module 113 is wholly contained, secured and sealed withinthe cover module 112 when the cover module is affixed to the outersleeve 115 by means of the screw cap mechanism at 123. It containssensitive electronic and electro-mechanical components and is separablefrom the cover 112 in order that the latter can be thoroughly washed. Inthe current embodiment an electrical interface connecting the lowercomponents to the upper, separable, components dictates an orientationspecific connection further facilitated by an independently rotatable“lock-ring,” forcing a uniform-pressure seal without further requiringthe dispensing module and/or its housing to rotate, and thereby creatingcomplications for an electrical interface.

One of the numerous advantages of the embodiments described herein is toadditionally facilitate the easy replacement and/or upgrading of one ormore of the modules of the container assembly. For example, a consumablecontainer (e.g., chamber 114, or drinking channel 122) may becomedegraded or stained by the contents over a period of time and maytherefore be easily replaced or upgraded without the need to replace orupgrade other, more complex and costly modules which may containintegrated electronics or sensors.

A portable hydration container such as is disclosed, also requires ameans to determine the level of water or other liquid in the container.Infrared light emitting diodes (LEDs) are widely used in TV remotecontrols, in cameras and in many other consumer products and waterabsorbs the infrared radiation emitted from such emitters. Infrared LEDsare small, inexpensive, have low power requirements and low powerconsumption, they are therefore well suited to a method for detectingthe level of water or other liquid in a portable hydration container. Inanother embodiment, a similarly “mapped” capacitive sensing PCB orequivalent might be oriented in such a way so as to detect the samecontrast at which the waterline contained in the vessel makes itselfapparent via variation of dielectric constant as measured by acapacitive sensing implementation (contact (probe), and non-contact.)

The presence of water or other liquid between an IR emitter and an IRreceiver will attenuate the IR signal, and the signal level detected ata receiver diode which is beneath the surface level of the liquid willbe substantially less than would be expected based solely on itsdistance from the emitter. For example, the absorption characteristicsof electromagnetic radiation by water are shown in FIG. 10, indicatingthat maximum absorption occurs at a wavelength of approximately 3 um.Similarly, the dielectric signal measured by a capacitive sensing arraypositioned and configured in similar fashion would detect a significantvalue difference between a ‘submerged’ versus ‘exposed’ sensor and/orportion/region of the capacitive sensor implementation.

A first embodiment of the liquid level sensing method is now describedwith reference to FIG. 5. For convenience this will be referred to asthe single side emitter embodiment, though more than one emitter may beused. One or more IR LEDs 124 emitting electromagnetic radiation aremounted within a side of the liquid container 115. The IR emission maybe at any appropriate wavelength but in a preferred embodiment may be atleast 1050 nm in order to be undetectable by the human eye. In thisexample, the topmost LED 124 in the array is the single side emitter. Inaddition, one or a plurality of infrared (IR) receivers are orientedvertically 104 at different liquid levels, with the topmost receivingdiode 125 positioned to be approximately aligned with the highest liquidlevel and the lowest receiving diode 126 aligned with the lowest liquidlevel possible within the container. The emitting diode 103 may be partof the vertical receiver array in the side of the container as shown inFIG. 5, or may be separated from it, it requires only that its emissionis sufficient to radiate significantly towards the general direction ofthe receivers. IR radiation from the emitter will be scattered withinthe liquid and reflected off the container walls such that it will bedetectable, to varying degrees, by each one of the IR receivers. Theemitting and receiving LEDs receive power from a battery unit 117contained within the base of the liquid container 100 or within anyother module of the container assembly. In the current, and preferred,embodiment, a power system is located in the lowermost portion so as tobe amenable to coaster-based inductive charging.

When the container is filled completely with liquid, all of thereceiving diodes 104 will be submerged, the signal level detected byeach of these receiving diodes will be low and there will be minimaldifferences between the signal strengths detected by each of theplurality of IR receivers. Because the signal level is low, andsubstantially equal at all receivers, the system determines that thecontainer is full. Similarly when the container is empty, all of thereceiver diodes 104 will be exposed and the signal level detected byeach receiver diode will be high and there will similarly be minimaldifferences between the signal strengths detected by each of theplurality of receivers. Because the signal strength is high, andsubstantially equal across all receivers, the system determines that thecontainer is substantially empty. The difference between a full and anempty container can be further inferred and corroborated by thedirection/vector of level-change, as measured by the sensorimplementation (e.g., full to empty, leading to empty, necessitates thatthe uppermost sensors record empty prior to the lower sensors, and viceversa for empty to full, leading to empty, whereby for example, the usermight be replenishing the vessel.)

As the liquid level 127 in the container decreases, several diodes willbecome exposed and no longer submerged, as a consequence they willdetect a higher level of IR radiation. Information on the physicallocation of each receiving diode and the signal level detected at eachone can then be used to determine a liquid level, and thus volume. In afurther embodiment, with data on the shape, size and form of thecontainer, it is additionally possible to infer the volume of liquid inthe container. In a further enhancement, measurement of the time elapsedor the number of IR pulses emitted in a period of time by the emitter124, can be used to determine a rate of depletion (consumption) of theliquid. For example at a first point in time, the liquid level isdetermined to be level with receiving LED 125, as shown in FIG. 5. At asecond point in time, 5 minutes later, the liquid level is determined tobe level with receiving LED 126. It is therefore possible to estimatethe rate of consumption of the liquid to be the calculated volume ofliquid between these two LED positions divided by the elapsed time. Ifthe volume of liquid is assumed (for example) to be 15 oz, then the rateof consumption would have been 3 oz. per min. Time measurement may be bymeans of an onboard clock or timer within the onboard processor or, inan embodiment where the emitting LED is emitting periodic pulses, bycounting the number of periodic pulses. For example, to reduce powerconsumption, the emitting LED may emit an IR pulse at 30 secondintervals enabling the liquid level to be determined at 30 secondintervals and the rate of consumption more accurately estimated. Ashorter measurement interval or higher pulse frequency will result in amore accurate rate of consumption estimate. Similarly, the same methodcan be used to determine when the container has been re-filled sincedetermination of the rate of consumption of the liquid would, in thiscase be a high negative rate. In all embodiments of a level sensingtechnique in this implementation, an inertial sensor (not labelled ordrawn) such as, for example, a four-axis accelerometer might provideusage context to activate and/or inactivate the level sensing system,such that it is recording and measuring only when in use. Alternately,such an inertial sensor might trigger a higher sampling-rate of a levelsensing system, so as to continuously measure and seek water-levelchanges, while triggering the more precise high-frequency evaluation ofwater-level changes when the probability of the user consuming orfilling the vessel is significantly higher (as measured by movement.)

The emitting diode 124 may or may not be submerged beneath the liquidsurface. Since the IR emission will be scattered by the liquid andreflected off the container walls, and will be substantially the samefor all receiving LED's, this will not affect the level measurement.

The LED emitter may be in one of multiple locations within theenclosure. FIG. 6 shows a further embodiment which, for convenience willbe referred to as the single top emitter, in which a single emitting LED103 is mounted at the top of the container preferably within a lidcomponent 112 which may be separable from the container 100.Alternatively it may be in the base of a dispensing module assembly 113but in a broadly similar location relative to the liquid. Power to theemitter is provided by means of a connector between the removable lidand the base which supplies power from the battery 117 contained in thebase of the liquid container 100. Multiple emitting LEDs may also beused subject to power and space limitations. The array of LED receivers104 may be positioned vertically within the side of the containersimilar to FIG. 5. While this configuration is specified, and isrepresentative of the current and preferred embodiment, it should beobvious to one learned in the art that such a configuration is notlimiting, and that a wide range of configurations are possible.

FIGS. 7A and 7B show the single top emitter embodiment in an upright(FIG. 7A) and tilted (FIG. 7B) position. IR radiation is detected ateach of 12 receiving LEDs r1 to r12 from an emitting LED e1 mounted inan upper part of the container. In FIG. 7A it will be apparent that thesignal strength detected at receivers r12 and r11 will be relativelyhigh, since the IR radiation has not passed through the liquid and beenattenuated, while the signal strength detected at receivers r1 to r10will be considerably lower since it has been attenuated by passingthrough the liquid. Furthermore, after compensating for the distancebetween the emitter and the receivers (the inverse square law, explainedin more detail in FIG. 7), the signal strengths detected at each of r1to r10 will be substantially similar. Therefore the method concludesthat the liquid level is between r10 and r11.

When the container is tilted as shown in FIG. 7B, the signal strengthdetected at receivers r8 to r12 will be high and substantially similar,while the signal strength detected at receivers r1 to r7 will be low andsubstantially similar (compensating for distance). The method wouldtherefore conclude that the liquid level is between r7 and r8, which isthe case, but only because the container is tilted, this would be anerroneous conclusion and would lead to an incorrect estimate of liquidlevel or volume when the container is upright. Consequently thisembodiment would additionally require inertial or other sensors todetect when the container is upright and the direction and degree oftilting of the container when it is not upright. Alternatively, inertialsensors may instruct the processor to measure the liquid level only whenthe container is upright.

FIG. 8 shows a further embodiment, which for convenience will bereferred to as multiple side emitters, which does not require inertialsensors, in which a first vertical array of multiple IR emitters 128 maybe mounted on one side of the container 100 and a second vertical arrayof multiple IR receivers 104 mounted on the opposite side of thecontainer such that each emitter is in substantial alignment with acorresponding receiver on the opposite side. This provides theadditional capability of determining the volume of liquid in thecontainer when the container is tilted. Though two vertical arrays ofsensors are disclosed and illustrated, this is not a limitation and anyother number of arrays may be deployed within a container. Similarly,the sensor arrays are not required to be vertical or linear in placementand many other arrangements are possible.

In FIGS. 9A and 9B the multiple side emitters embodiment shown in FIG. 8is shown in an upright and in a tilted position. Continuous orintermittent IR pulses are emitted by emitters e1 to e12 in asubstantially constrained angle such that the signal emitted by e12 willbe detected primarily by receiver r12, the signal emitted by e11 will bedetected primarily by receiver r11 and so on. In the followingdescriptions the received signal strength is represented as a percentageof the emitted signal strength, the percentages are for illustrationonly and do not necessarily represent actual signal strength.

In FIG. 9A, it will be seen that the received signal strength at r11 andr12 are high, at approximately 100% and at receivers r1 to r10 arerelatively low at 15%, and approximately equal. This transition fromhigh to low between r10 and r11 indicates that the liquid is at thatlevel (between r10 and r11) in the container.

In FIG. 9B, it will be seen that the IR signal strength detected atreceiver r12 is 60% (neither high nor low), having been slightlyattenuated by passing through the liquid, the signal detected atreceiver r11 will be attenuated to a slightly greater extent (e.g. 55%)since there is a greater volume of liquid between e11 and r11. Thesignal strength will step down further at receivers r10 to r8 as theamount of liquid between emitter and receiver gradually increases. Thesignal strengths received at r7 to r1 may be substantially similar (e.g.15%). The gradually changing signal level indicates that the containeris tilted, while the transition between r7 and r8 indicates that thelowest liquid level is approximately at the level of r7/r8. The factthat the signal strengths at r8 to r12 are not close to 100% indicatesthat liquid is present above r7 and that the equivalent liquid level, ifthe container were upright would be midway between r7 and a point wherethe received signal would be 100%. In this case determining that theliquid level would be at approximately r10. In a further embodiment, thecontainer may also contain a tilt sensing device and/or accelerometer tosubstantially determine the orientation of the container and increasethe accuracy of measurement. Note that the percentage signal strengthsreferred to above are for the purposes of illustration and example onlyand do not necessarily represent actual received signal strengths.

The use of inertial sensors and/or IR sensors as previously described todetermine that the consumable container is tilted may also be used todetermine that a user is actually drinking from the container at thattime, this information may be used to initiate or prevent a liquid levelmeasurement and/or initiate or prevent a scheduled dispensing eventand/or to perform other functions which should preferably take placecoincident with the drinking process.

Since infrared is an electromagnetic radiation and subject to theinverse square law, the signal level detected at a receiving diode isdependent on the distance between the emitter and the receiver, as wellas any attenuating fluid between. Thus the signal detected at a moredistant receiver will be less than that detected at a proximal receiverindependently of whether liquid is between them to attenuate the signal.This can be compensated for in the method since the relative locationsof all emitters and receivers are fixed and known.

FIG. 10 shows the detailed method of compensating for the attenuation ofinfra-red signal due to distance from the emitter (commonly known as theinverse square law), to more accurately determine the level of liquid ina portable container. This is described in the context of the single topemitter embodiment shown in FIG. 6 but applies to all embodiments. Anarray of IR receivers 104 detects IR radiation from IR LED emitter 103.The distance 129 between the IR emitter and IR receiver 1, is d₁, thedistance between the IR emitter and IR receiver 2, is d₂, the distancebetween the IR emitter and IR receiver 3, is d₃, and so on to IRreceiver N 705, at a distance of d_(N). If there is no attenuation byliquid in the container then the signal strength detected at each of theIR receivers will be subject to the inverse square law and for IRreceiver 1, will be 1/d₁ ², for receiver 2, will be 1/d₂ ² and so on upto 1/d_(N) ² 704. This is compensated for in the method used to processthe received signal strengths to determine a level of liquid in thecontainer.

FIG. 11 shows an illustrative process for the determination of liquidlevel within a portable container. Infrared radiation of signal strengthX is emitted by an IR emitting device at 1101 and a signal of strength Yis detected by an IR receiving device at 1102. Processing circuitryreceives the data from a plurality of receiving devices and determineswhether the detected signal Y is approximately equal to the emittedsignal X, divided by the square of the linear distance between theemitter and the detector 1103. If the signal strength is substantiallyequal, then the processor determines that there is no liquid in thespace between that emitter and that receiver. At 1104 the processordetermines whether the detected signal Y is less than or greater thanthe emitted signal X, 1104. If the signal strength is less than theemitted signal X, then the processor determines that there is liquidpresent in the space between that emitter and that receiver. If thesignal strength is greater than the emitted signal X, then the processordetermines that there may be an error and no determination of thepresence or absence of liquid is made.

Since a portable container will be subject to motion, the liquid levelwill not remain constant, but will be variable depending on the motion.Therefore much of the time, a determination of liquid level could beerroneous. To address this issue, in a further enhancement, theprocessing circuitry may use a plurality of signal strength measurementstaken at various time intervals, for example 10 seconds and combine themtogether to generate a mean value as the estimate of fluid level in thecontainer during that time period. In this embodiment, the infra-redemission may be continuous, with periodic detection of the receivedsignal or the infra-red emission may be periodic, with continuousdetection of a received signal.

FIG. 12 shows an illustrative process for the determination of the rateof consumption of a liquid within a portable container. The process ofsteps 1101 to 1104 is as previously described with reference to FIG. 11in addition, at step 1205, comparison is made between a first and asecond signal strength detected at that detection device to ascertainwhether the signal strength has changed from that previously detected.If liquid was previously determined to be not present and in thesubsequent detection event found to be present, then the systemdetermines that the liquid level has increased 1206. If liquid waspreviously determined to be present and in the subsequent detectionevent found to be not present, then the system determines that theliquid level has decreased 1207. By taking account of the time periodbetween the first received signal strength and second received signalstrength and/or a plurality of measurement events between, the systemdetermines a rate of consumption of liquid to be the difference betweenthe two measured levels divide by the time between measurements. Such atechnique in this instance is nearly identical in a fundamental mannerfor an alternate embodiment involving a capacitive sensingimplementation.

Data on the level or volume of liquid in a portable or non-portablecontainer may be used for a variety of purposes, including but notlimited to determining a rate of consumption of the liquid in thecontainer, determining when the container is empty, determining when thecontainer needs to be refilled, and determining when the container hasbeen refilled. Determining the level of liquid may also be used todetermine whether a scheduled dispensing event has taken place. Forexample, if a signal is communicated from a processor to dispense 0.2oz. of a consumable additive, the level detection system can immediatelyafterwards carry out a level check to confirm whether the fluid levelhas increased by an amount substantially in accordance with theintroduction of 0.2 oz. of the additive. The aforementioned exampleassuming that the two or more substances have strictly additive volumes(e.g. 1 oz plus 1 oz equals 2 oz total, etc.), whereby in cases wherethe respective volumes are non-additive (e.g. 1 oz plus 1 oz equals 1.9oz total, etc.), a defined adjustment factor would be considered.

In a further embodiment of the invention, the system may be used toestablish and periodically re-establish baseline IR emission and/ordetection thresholds corresponding to when the container is full andempty. The current embodiment of the container additionally comprises ofa sensor to determine when the lid is removed for the container to berefilled and subsequently replaced. On detection of the lid removal, theprocessor may signal an IR emission and detection event to establishthreshold signal levels corresponding to an empty container and onsubsequent replacement of the lid, the processor may signal an IRemission and detection event to establish threshold signal levelscorresponding to a full container. This may be particularly useful toincrease the accuracy of level detection within the container anddecrease threshold shifts caused by a varying infra-red level in theenvironment external to the container, or variable absorption/refractionor other forms of disruption of the fluid (e.g. water.) FIG. 13 shows agraph of the electromagnetic spectrum absorption characteristics ofwater.

A portable hydration container such as is disclosed herein requires anumber of separate vessels to be inserted containing the additives to bedispensed into the consumable. FIG. 14 shows a general view of anadditive vessel according to one or more embodiments described herein.The example additive vessel may include a substantially airtight vessel101 manufactured from a compressible, flexible or semi-flexible andrecoverable material such as BPA-free LDPE (Low Density Polyethylene).It may be manufactured in such a way that the side walls 130 and topsurface 131 of the vessel comprise of corrugated, accordion-like ridgesenabling the vessel to be readily compressed laterally, while providingthe necessary geometry to facilitate a ‘rebound’ behavior sufficientlystrong and/or reliable to return the vessel to its standard form, shape,and/or pressure. The vessel is configured in the container in such a wayso as to reliably constrain it across all but one axis of motion,consistent with the requirement of a correspondingly oriented actuatoror other pressurization mechanism. The aforementioned configurationdictates that all input force from a dispensing mechanism necessarilytranslates into a force directed towards the ultimate and controlledejection of the vessels' contents. The vessel may be removably mountedwithin a dispensing module assembly of a portable hydration container ofsubstantially circular cross-section with the surface 132 facing inwardas illustrated more clearly in FIG. 17 and FIG. 18. The additive vesselmay also have affixed to its surface an RFID or similar tag 102, encodedwith information about the vessel contents and the like, and comprises aseparable nozzle assembly 133 through which the additive contents aredispensed. The dispensing assembly is preferably removable from theconsumable container.

FIG. 15 shows an alternative embodiment of an additive vessel withflexible, compressible and non-ridged (non-accordion) side-walls 134 andflexible, non-ridged (non-accordion) top surface 135. This isessentially the same as the embodiment shown in FIG. 14, with theexception being the absence of bellows, accordion features,corrugations, ridges or other features of the side-walls and topsurface. In the preferred embodiment, the ‘smooth’ surface specificallyon the uppermost surface provides for a more rigid, planar surface thatin turn dictates a more forceful ‘rebound’ behavior in the vessel,perpendicular to the compressive dispensing force, thus allowing for amore reliable re-equilibration/re-aspiration cycle.

FIGS. 16A and 16B show a top and a bottom view of an additive vessel 102in which it can be seen that the top surface of the vessel comprises ofa corrugated or ridged compressible form 131, while the bottom comprisesa smooth surface 136 to facilitate effective sealing of the dispensingnozzle 133 to the additive vessel surface and sealing of the additivevessel against a retaining surface within the dispensing moduleassembly.

FIG. 17 shows a dispensing module assembly 113 with a plurality ofapertures for locating additive vessels 101 within a nest 137. Arotatable dispensing module 140 has one or a plurality of pressureapplicators in the approximate location 138 and close to the innermostsurface wall of the additive vessels. Mechanical motion of the pressureapplicator 141, operating via a rack-and-pinion mechanism when it isadjacent to the inner-oriented wall of the additive vessel, appliespressure to and compresses the additive vessel in order to dispense theadditive contents through the dispensing nozzle. Compression of theadditive vessel occurs in a substantially linear manner. Dispensingbehaviors, in a general sense in the current embodiment, are modulatedprimarily by volume (length) and frequency (number of actions) of thecompression.

FIG. 18 shows a substantially similar dispensing module assembly 113 butwith additive vessels of the form shown in FIG. 14, each having acompressible bellows-like or ridged feature on the side-walls 130 andtop surface 131 to facilitate compression of the additive vessel and thedispensing of vessel contents. The module 113 may have one or multiple(e.g., 5) apertures into which a user may insert additive vessels 101.It should be understood that the module 113 may include more or fewerthan five apertures. For purposes of clarity only, and not in any wayintended to be limiting, the example dispensing module 113 is shown withtwo additive vessels 101 inserted into separate apertures.

FIG. 19 shows an example detail view of a nozzle assembly in accordancewith one or more embodiments described herein. A nozzle 133 is removablyattached to the base of an additive vessel 101. This enables theadditive vessel itself to be manufactured from a recyclable compressiblematerial and the nozzle to be manufactured from a more rigid materialsuch as Polypropylene. Furthermore, the valve described in theembodiment of the present disclosure requires the use of silicone, anon-recyclable material that thus requires separation from the primary,recyclable, body of the vessel. The nozzle 133 has a flange 139 whichseals against a perimeter of the aperture in the dispensing moduleassembly 113 and prevents downward motion of the additive vessel whenmechanical pressure is applied to the walls to dispense additives. Thenozzle also comprises a domed and circular silicon valve 142 having anarrow cross-shaped slit which permits the additive to flow in anoutward direction when pressure is applied to the vessel, and permitsair to flow back in when the pressure is released. This silicon valveinterfaces to a flange on the inside of the dispensing nozzle 133.

The time duration of the dispensing event is variable, depending on theamount of additive to be dispensed, but at the completion of adispensing event, the pressure applicator in the dispensing moduleretracts and pressure ceases to be applied, at which point the circularsilicon valve 142 allows air to be drawn back into the additive vesselwithout substantial leakage of the additive substance in an outwarddirection, thereby enabling the vessel to recover and return to theexact shape, form and position that it possessed prior to the dispensingevent, and preparing it for a subsequent dispensing event. In this way aplurality of variable dispensing events can take place by means ofpressure applied to the additive vessel, with each dispensing eventbeing independent and unaffected by previous events. The silicon valve142 also prevents the ingress of liquid consumable from the main chamberof the container which would contaminate the additive stored in thevessel, for example when the container is tilted in order for the userto consume the contents, or during regular transit and/or transport ofthe container by the user.

The additive vessel may be removable from the dispensing module in theconsumable container at any time prior to and subsequent to a dispensingevent without substantial loss of additive. Furthermore, in contrast toexisting approaches in which a seal or membrane is punctured to releasean additive, the removable nozzle assembly of the apparatus disclosedherein, is not damaged when the vessel is removed, thereby enabling theadditive vessel to be potentially refillable and reusable. In a furtherembodiment, the mechanical interface between the additive vessel and thedispensing module assembly may additionally comprise a duckbill orsimilar type valve as is known in the art and which may provide anadditional barrier between the additive and the consumable liquid.

FIGS. 20A and 20B show a detailed cross section of a nozzle assemblythat may be used with or included as part of an additive vessel inaccordance with one or more embodiments described herein. FIG. 20A showsthe nozzle 133 and the silicon valve 142 separated, illustrating thatthe silicon valve is removably inserted within the nozzle 133. Thenozzle 133 seals against the perimeter of an aperture in the dispensingmodule at flange 139. FIG. 20B shows the nozzle 133 and the siliconvalve 142 in their assembled position with the silicon valve 142positioned within the nozzle 133.

In an alternate embodiment, the valve 142 and nozzle 133 assemblies maybe a single, more efficient, component. The multi-piece assembly allowsfor interchangeability of the valves, whereby different slit geometries,thicknesses, pliability, and the like further refine and/or dictate thedispensing behavior of the attached vessel in the presently disclosedsystem and apparatus, thus making the valve/nozzle assembly more readilyadjustable to accommodate different characteristics of additives.

FIG. 21 shows an illustrative example of the side and rear views of anadditive vessel 101 in accordance with one or more embodiments describedherein. The additive vessel 101 has at least one side portion 130, aninnermost (rear) surface 132, and a dispensing nozzle 133 at the lowerend of the vessel. The vessel 101 may also have a RFID tag 102 mountedon the inward facing (rear) surface of the vessel. This is positioneddistant from a pressure applicator which applies mechanical pressure tothe upper portion of the inner (rear) surface of the vessel 101 to fullyor partially dispense the additive contents, in order to ensure that thepressure applicator does not apply pressure directly to the RFID tag102. The tag 102 may typically be manufactured from aluminum or otherappropriate material and is securely affixed to the external surface ofthe vessel. It should be understood that the RFID tag 102 may also bepositioned on any other surface or portion of the additive vessel 101where the tag 102 can be accessed by an RFID antenna, in addition to, orinstead of the example positions of the RFID tag 102 described above.

In accordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure,the RFID tag 102 may contain information about the contents of theadditive vessel 101 to which the tag 102 is attached, including, forexample, a name or type of additive in the vessel (e.g., vitamin B,cherry flavor, etc.), a category of the additive (e.g., nutritionalsupplement, pharmaceutical, energy supplement, etc.), a capacity of thevessel (e.g., 75 drops, 1.5 oz., etc.), a standard serving amount forthe particular additive (e.g., 3 drops, 2.5 mL, etc.), dosage orconsumption limitations for the additive (e.g., 12 drops per day, 4drops per hour, 7.5 mL per day, etc.), as well as various otherinformation that may be pertinent to the contents of the vessel 101and/or the dispensing of the contents.

In accordance with at least one embodiment, data regarding thedispensing of additives may be encoded in any form suitable orappropriate to the dispensing process. (e.g. number of actuations,voltage, frequency, length of actuation, etc.).

FIG. 22 is a block diagram illustrating example data communicationsbetween various components of the system, in accordance with one or moreembodiments of the present disclosure. An RFID antenna 2201 mounted on arotatable dispensing module within a consumable container 2204 readsdata encoded on an RFID tag 2202 mounted on or within an additivevessel. Data received at the antenna 2201 is communicated to a processor2205 which uses that data to determine that the correct additive vesselis to be dispensed and to access other data about the additive vesselcontents and/or data about the preferences of the user of the containerthat may be influencing factors in the subsequent dispensing event. Thedata is also wirelessly communicated 2206 to an associated user mobiledevice 2207 via a Local Area Network, such as Bluetooth Low Energy,though it is understood that other wireless or wired technologies may beutilized for this. The mobile device 2207 further communicateswirelessly with the cloud 2208 via Wi-Fi, and/or a Wide Area Network(WAN) such as cellular, etc., and is able to communicate the dataaccessed from the additive vessel to a storage location in the cloud andis also able to access from the cloud additional information or dataabout the additive vessel or the user of the consumable container (suchas user preferences, consumption or usage history, etc.).

FIG. 23 is a flowchart illustrating an example process for identifying acontainer and accessing data about the additive contents within thecontainer, and about a user of the container. At block 2301 the systemmay detect that an additive vessel has an RFID tag and that the RFIDantenna is sufficiently close to the tag to read the data encodedthereon. At block 2302, the data may be read by the antenna andcommunicated to an onboard or external processor at block 2303. Dataabout the user of the container may be further accessed at block 2305from a local storage location or from, for example, an associatednetwork cloud, and communicated to the processor. Similarly,supplemental data about the additive in the container may additionallybe accessed at block 2304 from a local storage location or from thecloud and also communicated to the processor. Data from these threesources may then be used by the processor at block 2306 to determine theparameters of a subsequent dispensing event, which may include, forexample, the distance through which the rack mechanism needs to move toprovide the correct amount of pressure to the pressure applicator andthe duration of the application of pressure to the additive vessel, suchan action would also correspond to number of rotations of theinterfacing pinion gear, which subsequently would correspond to lengthof activation for the driving motor. In the preferred embodiment, theaction of the rack-and-pinion actuator is measured with a linearposition sensor, for which the primary purpose is to confirm a completeactuation, and a corresponding complete return to a home position, suchthat the dispensing module is free to rotate on its axis withoutinterference with other components and/or housings. These parameters arethen communicated to the dispensing module at block 2307.

FIG. 24 illustrates example data flows between components of a hydrationsystem. Example data flows are shown between an application on theuser's mobile device 2404, a processor within the portable hydrationcontainer assembly 2403, the dispensing module 2402, and a lidopen/close sensor 2401.

A lid sensor 2401 (e.g., a Hall-Effect switch) communicates to thecontainer processor 2403 that the lid has been opened or closed (2405),the open and close event indicating a likelihood that the user hasplaced or replaced additive vessels in the container and/or emptied orrefilled it with water or other consumable liquid. Irrespective of whatchange has occurred, the container processor 2403 instructs thedispensing module 2402 to rotate through 360 degrees (2406) enabling theRFID antenna to pass by and/or pause at each of the RFID tags and readthe encoded data (2407) about the additives in the additive vessels.This additive data is then communicated (2408) to the containerprocessor 2403 and may be further communicated to an application 2404 onthe user's mobile device (2409). The mobile device 2404 stores and/orcreates a dispensing schedule (2410) for that user based on the additivevessels loaded into the container and, at the appropriate time,communicates (2411) a dispensing instruction to the container processor.The dispensing schedule may be periodically updated or modifiedaccording to user preferences, information, context data, environmentalinformation, and the like which may be communicated from remote storagein the cloud to the user's mobile device application 2404 or from an APIto third-party applications on the user's mobile device 2404. Adispensing schedule may also be periodically adjusted based upon updateddata read from an RFID tag.

In one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, in response to adispensing instruction (2411) from the container processor 2403, a firstmotor rotates the dispensing module (2412) to align with the targetadditive vessel, and positional information determined by a rotarypotentiometer is communicated (2413) back to the container processor2403 to confirm alignment with the correct additive vessel. Concurrentlyor subsequently, the container processor 2403 instructs a second motorto rotate and subsequently drive a pressurizing actuator (2414) to applycompressive force to the target additive vessel thereby dispensing thevessel contents (2415) in a controlled fashion. A linear potentiometerconfirms the position of the pressure actuator (2416) to the containerprocessor 2403, enabling the processor to determine whether the actuatorhas moved the correct distance and maintained that position for thecorrect length of time in order to dispense the correct amount ofadditive from the vessel.

The aggregated dispensing event data may then be communicated (2417) tothe application on the user's mobile device 2404, and the dispensingschedule and/or dispensing history updated accordingly (2618). Updatedinformation may then be written to the RFID tag on the vessel that wasjust used for dispensing. This may include information on the quantityjust dispensed, the quantity of additive remaining in the additivevessel, the time/date of dispensing, the amount of consumable in thecontainer at the time of dispensing and the like. This data may then becommunicated (2419) from the user's mobile device 2404 to the containerprocessor 2403. If this occurs immediately after a dispensing event,then it is likely that the RFID antenna is still aligned with theappropriate RFID tag and the data can be written to the tag. However,there may be dispensing events which require additives to be dispensedfrom more than one additive vessel, in which case the RFID antenna maynot be aligned with the appropriate RFID tag and the dispensing modulemay need to be rotated back into the correct position (2420), thatposition being confirmed by the rotary potentiometer (2421), and theupdated information then communicated (2422) from the containerprocessor 2403 to the RFID antenna in the dispensing module 2402 andwritten to the RFID tag (2423). The system is then ready for the nextdispensing instruction and/or the next lid open/close event detection.

FIG. 25 shows example components that make up the apparatus of thedispensing module nest 137. The dispensing module nest 137 comprises oneor a plurality of additive vessels 101 (three shown for reasons ofclarity), a vessel nest or ring structure 137, providing apertures intowhich the multiple additive vessels can be inserted in positions chosenby the user, and a lower nest support structure. The aforementionedapertures 303 serve an ancillary purpose of constraining the additivevessel in all but one axis, thereby dictating that any input forceoperating on the additive vessel is (primarily) working to dispense thecontents of the vessel. Furthermore, the apertures 303 dictate anorientation-specific configuration of the additive vessels, ensuringaccurate placement of the vessel from both a dispensing and adata-read/write standpoint. One portion of the ring structure 303 isoccupied by a drinking channel 305 which allows the consumable liquid topass from the container through the dispensing assembly to the user.Centrally positioned within the dispensing assembly is a dispensingmodule 306, equipped with one or more pressure applicators 141. Inresponse to a signal from an onboard or external application orprocessor, the dispensing module moves the pressure applicator into aposition proximal to a selected additive vessel and applies pressure tothe inner surface of that additive vessel 101, to cause all or a portionof the additive therein to be controllably released through the bottomof the additive vessel 101 through the dispensing nozzle and into theconsumable within the container. This will be more readily understoodwith reference to FIG. 25. The aforementioned embodiments, as disclosedearlier in the present disclosure, do not necessitate a partially orcompletely electromechanical implementation, one learned in the art willrecognize that the dispensing actuation described, for the purpose ofcontrollably variable, non-zero dispensing, could be accomplished withdirect user-force acting upon a non-electrical, mechanical mechanism.

A detailed cross sectional view of the top portion of the containerassembly and the dispensing assembly 113 are shown in FIG. 25. Here itcan be seen that the additive vessels 101 are inserted and retained atan angle within the nest or ring structure 137, with the dispensingvalve at the bottom and facing downwards (three are shown for reasons ofclarity). Thus enabling the additive release to be assisted by gravityin addition to the pressure applied to the additive vessel 101 by thepressure applicator 141, which is moved axially into position by thedispensing module motors, and linear pressure applied to the wall of theadditive vessel by the pressure applicator 141.

Information about the contents of an additive vessel may be encodedwithin an RFID tag 102 or similar proximity based read/write memorysystem mounted on a surface, preferably the inner surface of theadditive vessel 101 and in close proximity to a self-indexing RFID orother appropriate receiving antenna or sensor 143. The data tag 102 maybe active but is preferably passive, requiring no power source. Byidentifying the additive vessel 101 within the limited readable range ofthe antenna 143, additionally provides locational precision and ensuresthat the information from only one additive vessel 101 is readable ineach possible discrete antenna position, and that the antenna alignmentadditionally coincides with the pressure applicator 141 alignment.Therefore, the pressure applicator 141 may act only on the additivevessel 101 about which data is currently communicated via the RFID orsimilar type identification system. Therefore this acts to ensure thatthe pressure applicator 141 applies pressure to the correct additivevessel 101 to dispense the correct additive.

Removal and/or replacement of the lid or top portion of the containermay be detected by a sensor. A number of alternative technologies arepossible, the preferred embodiment being a Hall Effect sensor located inthe uppermost part of the consumable container and the lower part of thelid. In response to determining that the lid or top portion has beenremoved and/or replaced, the system initiates a scan of the RFID tags102 on all additive vessels 101 within the top portion of the containerby means of the RFID antenna 143, which is rotated through 360 degreesby the dispensing module 140, thereby reading data from the RFID tags102 mounted on the inner surface of the additive vessels 101 andcommunicating this data to an onboard or external application orprocessor.

The RFID or similar type passive tag 102 communicates information aboutthe additives within the vessels 101 including, but not limited to, thename and/or type volume and/or amount of additive, the dosage, dosagefrequency, the maximum, minimum and/or recommended volume or amount tobe dispensed, usage guidelines, “use by” dates and/or other informationspecific to that additive vessel. It may additionally compriseinformation about the dispensing characteristics of the vessel contents,for example whether it is a liquid or powder, it's mass or viscosityetc. the optimum amount or range of pressure which should be applied bythe pressure applicator to dispense the additive and/or the length oftime or number of times that pressure should be applied to optimizedispensing of the additive. This information is communicated via theRFID or other antenna to an onboard or remote application or processor.This information is used in conjunction with additional information suchas end-user taste preferences, volume of consumable in the container,previous volume/amounts and additives dispensed into the consumableliquid, when the consumable liquid container was last refilled and otherinformation relating to the user and/or the hydration container which isnot specific to an individual additive vessel.

In a further embodiment, the RFID antenna may additionally write orencode information to an RFID or similar tag mounted on an additivevessel including, as a non-limiting example, a device ID may be encodedor otherwise programmed to the additive vessel in a dynamic fashion,related to the container within which it is inserted. The device ID maybe used to ensure that an additive vessel may only be used in one or aspecific type of container, or by a specific user, which may beappropriate for example if the additive in the vessel consisted of, forexample, pharmaceuticals and/or other controlled substances. The RFIDantenna may write information on user preferences to an RFID tag on anadditive vessel, for example to fine-tune the amount of an additivedispensed to the specific personal preferences of a user. It is possiblefor an additive vessel to be removed from the dispensing assembly and bereplaced therein at a later time, this is possible even after one ormore dispensing actions have been performed on the vessel, unlike manyother approaches known in the art which, after initial puncturing anduse, cannot be re-used in a second container or device. This alsoenables an additive vessel to be transferred to a second dispensingmodule assembly in a different container, in which case this informationcan then be transferred along with the additive vessel, for exampleinformation about the amount previously dispensed during the period oftime that the additive vessel was inserted in a first container or an IDcode representing the user of the first container, user preferences andthe like.

A dispensing assembly 140 may be centrally positioned and configured torotate around a central axis (where the central axis of the dispensingassembly 140 may correspond to a central axis of a container assembly(e.g., consumable container 100 in the example system shown in FIG. 1,in which the dispensing module 301 operates)) to apply mechanicalpressure to the correct additive vessel 101. As the dispensing assembly140 rotates to position the pressure applicator 141, an RFID antenna 143also rotates so that it is positioned proximal to the RFID tag 102 onthe correct additive vessel 101. In accordance with at least oneembodiment, the RFID antenna 143 may be designed to have a very limitedangle and/or range of read visibility such that it is able to read anRFID tag 102 only if the tag is within a close range to the antenna 143.In this way the method ensures that the pressure applicator 141 isacting on the correct additive vessel 101 since the antenna 143 isunable to detect or read neighboring or adjacent tags that may belocated on either side of the correct tag.

Additionally, in accordance with one or more embodiments, when one ormore additive vessels are initially inserted into a consumablecontainer, this insertion is detected by a sensor system and thedispensing assembly 140 may rotate through, for example, 360 degrees toscan and read the RFID tags of each vessel newly inserted (as well aspreviously inserted) to identify what additive vessels and thereforewhat additives, are in what aperture. The data read from the RFID tagsmay be stored (e.g., in a memory of the dispensing module or some othercomponent of the container) for future reference. The dispensingassembly fits into a base 144 which retains and positions the additivevessels such that the RFID tags are reliably in alignment with the RFIDantenna in accordance with the aforementioned.

FIG. 26 shows an illustrative example of a dispensing module 140, thefunctions of which include rotating the RFID antenna 143 to align withand read the RFID tags on the additive vessels, rotating the pressureapplicator(s) 141 to align with the appropriate additive vessel, andproviding the physical movement and force required for the pressureapplicator 141 to dispense the appropriate amount of additive from thetarget additive vessel.

In accordance with at least one embodiment, the dispensing module 140comprises of two DC electric motors 145 and 146. A first dispensingmotor 145 operates via a planetary-gear drivetrain mated to arack-and-pinion mechanism 147 to provide controllably linear motion tothe pressure applicator(s) 141, the linear motion of which appliespressure to a surface, preferably the inner surface of an additivevessel (e.g., additive vessel 101 as shown in FIG. 1) to releasecontrollably variable amounts of the additive. A second indexing motor146 operates using a spur-gear mated to a ring-gear 153 to enable axialrotation of the dispensing module 140 to achieve alignment of thepressure applicator 141 with an additive vessel. The indexing motor 146also makes use of a planetary-gear drivetrain 148, thus facilitatingmuch greater passive holding-force to maintain axial position even in anon-powered state, and furthermore, providing for reliable speedreduction facilitating more precise axial positioning. Note that theinner gear 153 operates within a fixed outer circumferential ring-gear(not shown) such that the outer gear remains stationary relative to thecontainer and the dispensing module rotates within it. In other words,the additive vessels remain stationary and the dispensing module 140rotates to align itself with the correct vessel. One having ordinaryskill in the art will understand that the aforementioned relationship ofa stationary retaining body with a dynamic dispensing module could bereadily modified to accommodate an inverse relationship between the twogeneral components, whereby the retaining body dynamically rotates andthe dispensing module remains in place.

Additionally, a rotary potentiometer 149 is mounted underneath thedispensing module 140, beneath motor 145, and provides axial positioninformation to confirm that the correct additive vessel is being actedupon, while circuit board 150 provides the logic and control for boththe indexing motor 146 and the dispensing motor 145, and also houses, inaccordance with at least one embodiment, the RFID processing unit(read/write/broadcast.) Similarly, a linear graphite potentiometer 151is mounted within the top portion of the dispensing module 140 tomeasure and monitor the linear motion of the pressureapplicator/actuator 141. This positional information is used to providefeedback to the container processor and/or an application on the user'smobile device, about the linear distance through which the pressureapplicator 141 has moved in order to confirm that the correct amount ofpressure has been applied and to further enhance the accuracy ofadditive dispensing.

In some cases the pressure applied by the pressure applicator 141 to theadditive vessel, the time duration of the pressure application and thefrequency of pressure application to dispense the additive, may bevaried based on the data read and imported by the RFID antenna 143 froman RFID tag on the additive vessel (e.g., RFID tag 102 on additivevessel 101 as shown in FIG. 1) and communicated to the processor 156.For example, a fluid of higher viscosity might require a greaterpressure to be applied and a powder additive might require pressuresufficient to agitate and level the powder contents but insufficient toinitiate any actual dispensing of the powder. This may additionally bevaried based on data associated with a user of the container. Forexample, user preference or previous usage data may indicate that anamount less than or greater than a standard volume be released and thepressure applied by the pressure applicator 141 and/or the duration ofapplication of pressure, varied accordingly. Each component of thedispensing module 140, at least with respect to the embodiment describedabove, can modulate a dispensing event by adjusting or otherwisemodifying stroke length, stroke frequency, stroke force, and strokespeed. In alternate configurations, the angle, position, and nature ofthe input force might be entirely or partially different, however one ofordinary skill in the art will understand that the resultant systemwould produce the same general results of fractional/partial non-zerodynamic dispensing of an additive vessel.

In accordance with at least one embodiment, the additive vessel (e.g.,additive vessel 101 shown in FIG. 14) is manufactured from any number ofsuitably compliant, flexible materials and may have ridges,accordion-features, or a bellows form 130, 131 on one or more of thesides to facilitate compression by the pressure applicator 141 and thesubsequent recovery of form when pressure is released from the vessel.The vessel also has a valve 142 through which the additive is releasedoutwardly when pressure is applied and which permits air to passinwardly to equalize the pressure when pressure is released. Theadditive vessel 101 may also have an RFID or similar type tag 102affixed to an external surface of the vessel 101 to store andcommunicate data about the vessel contents to an onboard or separateprocessor or application (e.g., container processor 156).

FIG. 27 shows a detailed plan view of a rack and pinion assembly 147which, in accordance with at least some embodiments of the presentdisclosure, moves in a linear manner and applies force to a pressureapplicator 141 that further applies pressure to the wall of an additivevessel (e.g., additive vessel 101). The rack-and-pinion assembly 147comprises a rack 152 on an inner wall and a gear 153 engaged with therack 152. When the gear 153 is rotated by the electric motor (e.g.,dispensing motor 145) in a counterclockwise direction, it moves the rack152 and the rack-assembly outward. The rack and pinion mechanism 147 isalso rotated into position axially to align with a pressure applicator141 and additive vessel. Movement of the rack and pinion assembly 147applies force to the pressure applicators 141 via a surface 154. Fivepressure applicators 141 are shown in FIG. 27, consistent with thenumber of additive vessels in at least one embodiment. However, itshould be understood that a greater or lesser number of pressureapplicators 141 is also possible. The pressure applicators 141 may bemanufactured of a flexible material, enabling expansion when force isapplied to the surface 154 and subsequent recovery to a first positionwhen the gear 153 is rotated clockwise and the rack and pinion assembly147 moves back to its original position.

A more detailed view of the apparatus for pressure application, themeasurement of that pressure application, and monitoring using a linearpotentiometer, in accordance with one or more embodiments, is shown inFIG. 28. The motor 145 rotates a circular gear 153 which rotates andmoves a linear rack 152 outward from the central axis of the dispensingmodule 140. The rack unit 152 further applies pressure to an additivevessel (e.g., additive vessel 101) via a pressure applicator 141. Thus,varying the degree of rotation of the circular gear 153 will vary thelinear distance moved by the rack 152 and consequently the amount ofpressure applied to the additive vessel 101 by the pressure applicator141. An electrical signal is communicated from or through the linearpotentiometer 151 to a processor to determine the distance through whichthe rack 152 has moved, and length of time that the rack 152 is in aposition whereby it would cause the pressure applicator 141 to applypressure to an additive vessel. This electrical signal is communicatedto the container processor 156 and/or an application or processor in theuser's mobile device.

A more detailed view of the apparatus for measuring and controlling therotational position of the pressure applicator (and RFID antenna), inaccordance with one or more embodiments, is shown in FIG. 29, where themotor 146 rotates a spur-gear 148 rotating within the innercircumference of a ring-gear (not shown). A continuous rotarypotentiometer 149 moves relative to the container and an electricalsignal is communicated from or through the continuous rotarypotentiometer 149 to indicate the rotational/axial position relative tothe container or the rotational/axial displacement/difference from aprevious position. This communicates a signal to the processor toindicate and/or confirm the exact rotational position of the dispensingmodule 140 and the length of time that the dispensing module 140 isaligned with an additive vessel (e.g., additive vessel 101). Theprocessor furthermore combines the electrical signal data indicatingposition, from both the linear and rotary potentiometers (151, 149) todetermine whether the dispensing module 140 is actively operating on anadditive vessel or whether it is “parked” adjacent to it. In accordancewith at least one embodiment, the indexing mechanism orients thedispensing mechanism to a “home-point” relative to the housing aftereach cycle or set of cycles, so as to reduce the significance ofcumulative error on the indexing component/s (e.g., the rotarypotentiometer mechanism 149), furthermore, in an alternate preferredembodiment, a redundant/supplementary/complementary mechanism might beemployed to verify the successful alignment of the “home-point.”

An example method whereby the above described apparatus operates toachieve the controlled release of a substance is shown in FIG. 30. Atblock 3001, a processor sends a signal to a first motor (e.g., motor145) to operate for the specific time period required (e.g., “x”seconds, where “x” is an arbitrary number) to rotate the dispensingmodule (e.g., dispensing module 140) from its current position to thenew position needed to align with the appropriate additive vessel (e.g.,additive vessel 101). At block 3002, the motor operates and rotates thedispensing module, and thus activates the active components of therotary potentiometer that is a part of the module, and subsequentlyencodes axial position. At block 3003, the electrical impedance of thepotentiometer is determined by the processor to confirm that thedispensing module is aligned with the correct additive vessel. If theactuator/pressure-applicator is aligned with the correct additivevessel, then the RFID antenna will also be aligned with the same correctvessel by default. Therefore, at block 3004, the system may additionallyconfirm that the correct additive vessel is aligned by reading the datafrom the RFID tag on the additive vessel and comparing this data withthat previously stored in, or accessible by the processor. Havingconfirmed that the actuator/pressure-applicator is aligned with thecorrect additive vessel, at block 3005, the processor may then send asignal to a second motor to operate for the specific time required(e.g., “y” seconds, where “y” is an arbitrary number that may or may notbe different from “x”) to move the rack and, as a result, move thepressure applicator to a position whereby it is applying pressure to thewall of the additive vessel, at block 3006. It should be noted that thesignal to a second motor may additionally include data on the length oftime that the pressure applicator should remain in its pressure applyingposition before retracting back to a position of rest and/or the numberof times that pressure may be applied and/or an oscillation frequencywhich may be used, for example to agitate a powder additive stored inthe additive vessel prior to or subsequent to a dispensing event.

At block 3007, the electrical impedance of the linear potentiometerwhich is part of the dispensing module is determined by the processor inorder to confirm that the actuator/pressure-applicator has moved thecorrect linear distance to apply sufficient pressure to the additivevessel and to dispense additive at block 3009. During or subsequent to adispensing event, the system may additionally write data to the RFID tagon the additive vessel at block 3008, including but not limited to dataabout the dispensing event that has just taken place. Such data mayinclude the date/time and quantity of additive dispensed, a containerand/or user identifier and the like.

FIG. 31 shows a data flow diagram illustrating example data flowsbetween components of a dispensing module within a hydration systemduring a dispensing event in accordance with one or more embodimentsdescribed herein. Example data flows are shown between an application3104 on the user's mobile device, a processor 3103 within the hydrationcontainer, the dispensing module 3102 and a lid open/close sensor 3101.

The lid or top of the hydration container may be fitted with a sensor todetermine when the lid has been opened or closed. The lid sensor 3101,which may be, for example, a Hall-Effect switch, communicates to thecontainer processor 3103 that the lid has been opened or closed (3105),the open and close event indicating a likelihood that the user hasplaced or replaced additive vessels in the container and/or emptied orrefilled the hydration container with water or other consumable liquid.Irrespective of what change has occurred, the container processor 3103instructs the dispensing module 3102 to rotate through 360 degrees(3106) enabling for an RFID antenna to pass, or pause, by each of theadditive vessel apertures, and thus the RFID tags affixed to theadditive vessels, and read the encoded data (3107) about the additivesin the additive vessels, whereby any changes in contents and/or positionwould be saved and/or updated to local and/or peripheral memory systemsto guide dispensing actions. This additive data is then communicated(3108) to the container processor 3103 and may be further communicated(3109) to an application on the user's mobile device 3104.

The application 3104 installed on the user's mobile device stores orcreates a dispensing schedule (3110) for that user based on the additivevessels loaded into the container and, at the appropriate time,communicates a dispensing instruction (3111) to the container processor3103. The dispensing schedule may be periodically updated or modifiedaccording to, for example, user preferences, contextual data,environmental information, previous dispensing data, and the like, whichmay be communicated from remote storage in the cloud to the user'smobile device application 3104 or from an API to third-partyapplications on the user's mobile device, or from the container to theuser's mobile device.

In response to a dispensing instruction (3111) from the containerprocessor (3103), a first motor (of the dispensing module 3102) rotatesthe dispensing module (3112) to align with the correct additive vessel,and positional information determined by a rotary potentiometer (of thedispensing module 3102) is communicated (3113) back to the containerprocessor 3103 to confirm alignment with the correct additive vessel.Concurrently or subsequently, the container processor 3103 instructs asecond motor (of the dispensing module 3102) to rotate and move thepressure actuator linearly (3114) via a rack and pinion mechanism (ofthe dispensing module 3102) to apply pressure to that additive vesselthereby dispensing the vessel contents (3115). The linear potentiometer(of the dispensing module 3102) confirms the position of the pressureactuator (3116) to the container processor 3103. The container processor3103 is thereby enabled to determine whether the actuator has moved thecorrect distance and maintained that position for the correct length oftime in order to dispense the correct amount of additive from thevessel. The aggregated dispensing event data may then be communicated(3117) to the application on the user's mobile device 3104 and thedispensing schedule and/or dispensing history updated accordingly(3118). The system is then ready for the next dispensing instructionand/or the next lid open/close event detection.

FIG. 32 shows example apparatus, systems, and applications forleveraging context data in accordance with one or more embodimentsdescribed herein. A portable hydration container 100 includes aprocessor 156, a dispensing module 140, inertial and/or tilt sensors157, and one or more fluid or liquid level sensor 158 and/or flowmeter.The inertial and/or tilt sensors 157 function to detect when thecontainer 100 is tilted, and the level sensors 158 function to detect achange in fluid or beverage level in the container 100. The container100 may also include a processor 156 and communications means to auser's mobile device 106. The user's mobile device 106 may be in two-waywireless communication with the portable hydration container 100 and mayinclude a processor 159 and one or more of the following applications: aGPS location and/or mapping application 161 that uses GPS sensors 165 todetermine a location of the user and/or speed of motion; a physicalactivity application 162 or the like to determine the user's current orprevious levels of physical activity such as number of steps takenwithin a certain time period; a weather application 163 to determine theambient environmental conditions at a location of the user; and acalendar application 164 to determine the past and future locationsand/or activities of the user. The mobile device 106 may also beequipped with inertial/motion sensors 157 to provide the motion datarequired by a physical activity application 162 and may furnish thisdata directly to a processor 156 within the portable hydration container100, or to another application on the mobile device 106 that controls orotherwise communicates with the hydration container 100. Similar datamay also be obtained from websites or services using the cellularcommunications capabilities of the mobile device 106, or via Wi-Fi.

Some example use cases for the leveraging of context data (as shown inFIG. 32 and described above) are described in the following withreference to FIG. 33. The number of steps taken in a day or week orother time period along with speed of motion data derived from anactivity application such as, for example, “MapMyRun”, may indicate thata user's level of physical activity has passed above a pre-definedthreshold (at block 3300), which may suggest that the user is probablyexercising. Data on the speed of linear motion of the user can bederived (at block 3301) from this and/or from GPS data (at block 3302)to provide an estimation of the user's activity and location. Forexample, if data indicates that the user is at approximately a typicalhuman running speed, the user could be either indoors or outdoors. TheGPS data from the user's mobile device 106 might indicate, for example,that the user is at a previously unknown location, at block 3303. Ifthere is no mapping data to suggest that the user is at a specificaddress or building, then it might be inferred that the user is outdoorsand environmental data relating to this specific location, such asweather data can be accessed at block 3304. Such data may indicate thatit is currently 90 degrees Fahrenheit and 90% relative humidity at thelocation. Depending on how many times it has been determined that theuser is at the specific location, location data may be stored at block3305. Further, in at least one embodiment, such data may be processedand translated into dispensing modifications and/or consumptiondirectives, such as increased electrolyte dispensing, combined withhigher frequency drinking of the water/electrolyte post-mix beverage.

In the manner described above, it can be determined how far the user hasrun, at what speed and in what environmental (weather) conditions,therefore it is possible to infer the degree of dehydration of the user.When the activity application 162 determines that the user has paused orstopped running, then a recommendation may be presented to the userabout the quantity of water the user should consume, and within whattime-period, in order to appropriately re-hydrate. Appropriate additivesmay additionally be dispensed into the water after the exercise, and ifthose additives (stored in additive vessels) are not currently insertedin the container, then it might be recommended to the user that theyconsume them when they next get home. Since the GPS and/or mappingapplication can also determine when the user is next at home, then afurther reminder can be displayed to the user at that time. Such areminder may be presented via a visual and/or auditory display on thehydration container, and/or via a visual and/or auditory display on theuser's mobile device. In accordance with at least one embodiment, sincethe eCommerce system of the present disclosure also stores data on whatadditive vessels a user has previously purchased, the process can avoidrecommending additives that the user does not have, but may recommendinstead that those additives be added to the shopping cart for laterpurchase from the eCommerce service.

In another example, steps and activity data from a mobile deviceactivity application such as “MapMyRun” or a wearable fitness devicesuch as “Fitbit” at block 3301 may suggest that a user is jogging.However, GPS data associated with the user's mobile device 106 mayindicate that the user is stationary, which would suggest that the useris likely to be jogging on a treadmill, and therefore most likely to beindoors (and likely therefore to be at typical room temperature of about70 degrees Fahrenheit).

If there is no known address associated with a GPS location, then thedata may be further leveraged to derive an address and this address canthen be further used to determine the type of location (e.g., home, gym,hotel fitness-room, yoga studio, etc.). The application (e.g., physicalactivity application 162) may enable a user to specify (e.g., in thesettings part of the application) a preferred criterion whereby afrequently visited location may become defined as a “favorite place”and, if that address is visited more than that specified number ofoccasions within a certain time period then it may be automaticallydefined and stored as a “favorite place” at block 3305. When theactivity application 162 determines that the user has stopped jogging,then a recommendation may be presented to the user about the quantity ofwater the user should drink, and within what time-period, in order toappropriately re-hydrate. Appropriate additives may additionally bedispensed into the water after the exercise.

In accordance with at least one embodiment, addresses and geo-codes maybe stored as “frequently visited places,” the user being able to type indescriptive names for these favorite places (e.g., home, gym, office,pub) or to approve/change suggested names that may be automaticallygenerated from web-crawling using the geo-location data or from APIs toother applications. Once stored, the system can associate generalactivity levels with each location (which might be, for example mostlyjogging and cycling when in “gym” location, little activity and somewalking when in “office” location, almost no activity when in “pub”location, etc.). This data can be used to anticipate what additives auser might wish to insert in the container in the morning forconsumption during the day. For example, a user's calendar applicationmight say “gym” at 8 am, and previous activity data corresponding tothat location indicates a generally high level of expected physicalactivity. Other data associated with that location may include theadditives that the user tends to insert and consume before going to thegym. The system may determine that there may be a more appropriate mixof additives for the user, given the levels of activity that the userundertakes at the gym. Consequently, the personal recommendations may beon two levels—a recommendation for today only (based on the additivesthat the user currently has) and for the future (recommending whatadditives the user should purchase in the future).

In another example, text in the user's calendar application 164 mayinclude the word “flight” or “travel” and/or a meeting notice in thecalendar application may give an exact or approximate location of ameeting, for example. Furthermore, the GPS data may determine that he ispresently 3000 miles away from the location he was at 12 hourspreviously, it is therefore likely that he has flown from city A to cityB. It might further be determined from this location data that theselocations are 6 time-zones apart. Given that approximate start/end timescan be derived from the GPS data and the time zones are known, it willbe possible for a specific combination of additives to be recommendedand/or a specific dispensing schedule generated, in order to helpaddress jet lag and/or general exhaustion in the days following theuser's arrival at the second destination.

Additional dynamic user lifestyle context data may also be obtained fromfriends and connections such as might be determined from socialnetworking sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn and the like, and also fromsemantic mining of email and text messages on the mobile device.

FIG. 34 shows a summary block diagram of the system, in which aprocessor 156 (which may be disposed within the container assembly 100)receives a signal, either directly or from a user's mobile device 106,to dispense an additive from an additive vessel 101 into the containerassembly 100. One or more liquid level sensors 158 in the containerassembly 100 measure the liquid level and the level data is communicatedto processor 156 which then determines the amount of additive to bedispensed to achieve a correct level of concentration. The processor 156further determines the distance through which a pressure applicatorneeds to move in order to apply that pressure and the duration ofpressure application required to dispense a correct amount of additive,and communicates this to the dispensing module 140, which rotates intoposition adjacent to the appropriate additive vessel 101 and appliespressure to the wall to dispense a correct amount of that additive. Inaccordance with at least one embodiment, the container assembly 100 isadditionally equipped with a sensor 169 to detect when the top isremoved for refilling or to replace or change additive vessels 101.

FIG. 35 shows an example process for controlling (e.g., adjusting,varying, etc.) an amount (e.g., quantity) of additive dispensed into aconsumable liquid (e.g., stored in a container assembly) based on aconsumable liquid level of the consumable liquid. In at least oneembodiment, the consumable liquid level of the consumable liquid may bedetermined by a level sensor or level sensing device of the containerassembly.

In at least one embodiment, the controlling of the dispensing of theadditive may also be based on one or more contextual factors. At block3501, a communication is received by the container (e.g., containerprocessor 156) to dispense an additive Y into the consumable liquid(e.g., substrate) stored in the container assembly. For example, theadditive may be a cherry flavoring which should ideally be at aconcentration of 1 drop per 50 ml of water. At block 3502, a levelsensor (e.g., an infrared, capacitive level sensing array) disposed inthe container assembly may determine the level of consumable C stored inthe container assembly, and communicate that level to the processor todetermine (at block 3503) whether there is sufficient consumable liquid(water, alcohol, and the like) present for the dispensing event to takeplace. If it is determined that the level of the consumable liquid iszero, or below a pre-defined threshold level (at block 3503), thendispensing may be cancelled, postponed, or otherwise modified until suchtime as the container is fully or partially refilled, at which time theprocess may re-commence at block 3501. It should be noted that in atleast one embodiment, the container assembly is equipped with a sensorto detect when the top of the container assembly is removed forrefilling. When such a detection is made, the process may repeat atblock 3501.

If sensors detect the presence of a consumable liquid, the level ofliquid is measured and the volume of liquid can then be determined fromthe known and fixed dimensions of the container. If there is sufficientconsumable present, then the amount of additive needed to achieve atargeted level of concentration is determined at step 3504. Theprocessor may additionally access dynamic, historic, or profile-leveldata about the user of the container and their personal preferences inorder to adjust a recommended concentration level upward or downwardaccording to the user's taste or based on other contextual data,consequently the level of concentration may be further adjusted based oncontextual factors such as time of day, user activity levels, userpreferences, environmental conditions (temperature, humidity etc.),location, previously consumed food, previously consumed beverages,previously consumed supplements, and the like, at step 3505. For exampleit may be determined that there is 250 ml of liquid in the containertherefore 5 drops of cherry flavor are needed. It may also determinethat the user has a preference for a stronger flavor which may increasethis to 6 drops. Contextual data (e.g. from a 3rd party application) mayindicate that the temperature and humidity are very high and therefore agreater level of hydration and lower concentration may be appropriate atthis time, which may adjust this downwards to 5.5 drops. In this way theprocessor determines at 3506, the appropriate amount of additive Y to bedispensed in order to achieve the targeted level of concentration. Themethod further determines the amount of pressure and the length of timethat pressure needs to be applied to the additive vessel (e.g. in orderto dispense exactly 5.5 drops of flavoring) at step 3507. This may,within the same step 3507, be defined or communicated to the dispensingmodule in the form of a linear distance through which a pressureapplicator/actuator moves (which applies force to the wall of anadditive vessel to trigger a controllably variable dispensing event),and the length of time that it remains in position before retracting, todispense the additive Y. The dispensing module then rotates to alignwith the appropriate additive vessel at step 3508 and the pressureapplicator moved into position at step 3509 to apply pressure anddispense 5.5 drops of additive Y. The process is completed when thecorrect amount of additive has been dispensed at a step 3510.

Furthermore it should be noted that the ideal level of concentration maynot be a single ratio of additive to consumable but may be a range ofratios, depending on the type of additive. In a further embodiment, ifadditive Y has been added to a consumable in a container and a furtherdispensing event for additive Y is received before the container hasbeen emptied and refilled, then the dispensing event may be blocked orthe amount adjusted, in order to avoid the concentration level beingexcessively elevated.

FIG. 36 shows example data communications between components of ahydration system in accordance with one or more embodiments describedherein. The data communications shown include those between one or morelevel sensors 3601, a dispensing module 3602, a container processor3603, and an application running on a user device 3604.

A signal or instruction to dispense an additive may be communicated(3605) from the user's mobile device 3604 to the container processor3603. The container processor 3603 may then send an instruction (e.g.,query) (3606) to the level sensor 3601 to measure the level ofconsumable liquid presently stored in the container, and that level datamay be communicated (3607) back to the container processor 3603, whichmay then determine the appropriate amount of additive to dispense(3608). The container processor 3603 may then request (3609) additionalcontext data from APIs to applications running on the user's mobiledevice 3604, which is communicated (3610) back to the containerprocessor 3603 and used to further adjust the amount of additive to bedispensed if appropriate. A signal or instruction to dispense a moreprecise amount of additive is then communicated (3611) to the dispensingmodule 3602 and the additive dispensed (3612). Confirmation of asuccessful dispensing event may then be communicated (3613) from thedispensing module 3602 to the container processor 3603, and may befurther communicated (3614) from the container processor 3603 to theuser's mobile device 3604. This may occur immediately after a dispensingevent or data may be batched and communicated at some later time.

Optionally, in a further embodiment, an instruction may be sent from theuser's mobile device 3604 to confirm the concentration (3615) bymeasuring the level of consumable immediately following the dispensingevent, with an instruction to measure the level (3606) being sent fromthe container processor 3603 to the level sensors 3601 as before. Thelevel data being communicated (3607) back to the container processor3603, which may then determine the level of concentration of additive inthe consumable (3616). As before, this may be further communicated(3617) from the container processor 3603 to the user's mobile device3604.

Portable drinking bottles have previously not required a way ofcommunicating with a user since the only relevant information has forthe most part been to see how much water there is in the bottle, whichis clearly determined by simple observation. More recently, portablewater containers and those for other consumable liquids are becomingincreasingly sophisticated and connected, some having wirelesscommunications capability with a user's mobile device and/or with Wi-Fiand other methods. Others also have displays to present data orinformation to a user or viewer of the container and/or LEDs toilluminate the water, however a beneficial function of the currentdisclosure is that the method of communicating can enable moremeaningful, useful and context-relevant information to be communicatedto a user since it uses several LEDs whose spectral output and otherparameters can be varied and controlled. Furthermore, the hydrationcontainer has multiple capabilities, including the ability toperiodically dispense additives into the consumable liquid within thecontainer and thereby changing it's composition, there is thereforeconsiderably more relevant and useful information that can potentiallybe communicated to the user.

One embodiment of a means of communicating with the user of a container(e.g., container assembly 101) is shown in FIG. 37, which shows theouter sleeve 115 for a portable liquid (e.g., water) container assembly101 without the other components obscuring the illuminating LED's. Theouter sleeve 115 comprises an integrated LCD or similar display 111, anarray of illuminating LEDs 170 in the base of the container and atranslucent lens 171 vertically oriented along the side of the sleeve115. A transparent chamber for the consumable liquid fits within thisouter sleeve 115. More complex information may be communicated to theuser via the display 111. This may not be easily visible from a distancehowever, and is less attention-grabbing, while illuminating the liquidand the vertical lens 171 using the LEDs 170 in the base would bevisible from a greater distance and also considerably moreattention-grabbing. A user may not always have the container very closeby, for example it may be nearby when running on a treadmill, in aholder on a cycle or to the side in a vehicle's drink holder and so on,so a more visible alert would be beneficial to a user. The liquidcontents will scatter the illumination throughout such that it will notbe perceived as a series of point source illuminants but as a gentleglow throughout the entire container contents, therefore the illuminatedarea that is visible to the user will be much larger than the surfacearea of the LEDs 170. Light from the LEDs 170 will also be internallyreflected from the sides of the container assembly and scatteredthroughout the liquid contents.

A more detailed view of an array of LEDs 170 is shown in FIG. 38, whichis a view vertically downward into a container assembly 101 having anexternally mounted display 111 and a circular array of LEDs 170 in thebase.

Information which could be conveyed using illumination of the liquid inthis way includes, but is not limited to, for example, alerting a userthat their level of hydration is low and that they need to drink somewater, where a container is used to dispense medications it could alertthe user that it is time to consume some medication, if a user isdrinking water to re-hydrate, the illumination might change color toindicate the point when sufficient quantity has been drunk.

In some implementations of the system, the container may be incommunication with a user's mobile device (e.g., user device 106), andtherefore the illumination of the liquid may be used to supplementinformation presented on the screen of the mobile device, such as, forexample alerting the user to an incoming text message, email or iOSnotification, or notifications from a fitness or activity trackingapplication, and the like.

Some non-limiting examples of ways in which the LEDs' 170 output may beencoded to communicate such useful information include the following:

All LEDs are the same color and there is no flashing;

All LEDs are the same color and are flashing slowly (“breathing”effect);

All LEDs are the same color and are flashing rapidly (attentiongetting);

LEDs emit a range of colors and there is no flashing (rainbow effect);

LEDs emit a range of colors and are flashing; and

LEDs emit a range of colors in a sequence (effect of rainbow rotatingaround the bottle).

There are a very wide range of encoding options and permutations and,though described in the context of a portable hydration container, themethods and apparatuses of the present disclosure may apply to anycontainer containing a liquid or other light scattering substance.

Since data is available to a processor regarding the type, categoryand/or unique product code of an additive vessel, including the amountof additive originally stored in the vessel (typically, but notnecessarily, 1 oz.), and data is also available regarding the amount,frequency and times when a portion of that additive was dispensed into aconsumable liquid in the container, the system can determine the amountor level of additive remaining in the vessel at any time. Therefore thesystem can identify when a vessel is empty, and can also predict when itis likely to become empty given the rate of previous dispensing and thescheduled or predicted future rate of dispensing.

The eCommerce system from which the vessels were purchased may alsostore information about a user's purchase history, therefore data isavailable about when a user last purchased additive vessels, what theywere and how many were purchased. When correlated to the additivedispensing data, the system can not only predict when a vessel insertedin the container will be depleted, but may also predict when a users'personal supply of that particular additive vessel will run out. Thesystem can therefore additionally alert the user to this via the displayon the container and/or via auditory means.

Furthermore, since the container is wirelessly connected to theeCommerce system, either directly or via a user's mobile device,pressing a button on, or otherwise interacting with the container cansend a communication directly or indirectly to the eCommerce system toadd some of these additive vessels to the user's shopping cart or toautomatically order them and have them shipped, depending on thepreferences or settings the user has on the eCommerce site. Thereforethe user does not have to remember to re-order the additive vessels ifthey are needed, or check/keep track of stocks in reserve at home, andalso has the option to not order them, or to cancel the order later ifthey change their mind.

FIGS. 39A and 39B show illustrative example of a user interface throughwhich a user may add products to their eCommerce shopping cart directlyfrom a hydration container assembly. The container assembly 101 (aportion thereof is shown) may have a simple user interface comprising ofa circular display 111 and two pushbuttons 116. The display 111 may, asshown in FIG. 40A for example, display to the user that “Supplies ofVitamin B are almost out”, pressing the right hand button 116 causes amessage to be sent to add Vitamin B vessels to the shopping cart. Thoughconfirming this may not actually make a purchase, it may just add themto the shopping cart, it is generally good practice to ask the user toconfirm the instruction in a two-step process. Therefore, a confirmingdisplay of “Vitamin B added to cart” may be accompanied by the buttonoptions to “Cancel” or “Confirm” the request as shown in the display 111in FIG. 40B.

The purchase transaction may be completed when the user next goes to theeCommerce site. In an alternative embodiment, the user actions may causethe ordered product to be ordered and automatically shipped, or may addseveral orders to a shopping cart until such time as an order quantitythreshold is reached, at which point the order batch may be shipped.

Furthermore, several soon to be depleted products may be added to theshopping cart (e.g., additives a, b, and c) and since the system is ableto predict an earliest time when the user will run out of each of theseadditives, (e.g., the user will run out of additive b four days soonerthan additives a and c), then the batch may be automatically shipped tothe user at a time whereby the batch of several products arrives beforeadditive b runs out, taking into account the shipping and deliveryschedule. These alternatives may be under the control of andconfigurable by the user on the eCommerce site either directly, or viathe application on the user's associated mobile device.

Furthermore, in accordance with at least one embodiment of the presentdisclosure, provided is a system capable of caching eCommerce selectionsand/or directives locally on a portable dispensing device thatsubsequently communicates the selections and/or directives to relevantdatabases and eCommerce mechanisms engaged with peripheral and/orconnected user devices such as a mobile application. In theaforementioned embodiment, this data “push” from the portable dispensingdevice related to the repurchase of additive vessels may occur inreal-time, or at a later time when a sufficient connection isestablished between devices, furthermore, the data “push” associatedwith the on-device purchase instruction might not initiate and/orfulfill immediately, and might be scheduled or postponed in accordancewith the user's profile, preferences, consumption history, and otherdata or factors relevant to the user's consumption of the additive/s.

FIG. 40 shows an illustrative example of some methods and processes foran eCommerce transaction directly from a product, in this case, ahydration container assembly. It is assumed that one or more purchasesof additives have been made (at block 4001), shipped to thecustomer/user (at block 4002) and that some additive vessels areinserted in the container and are in use, while others are stored athome awaiting use. As a consequence of these previous purchases from theeCommerce site, purchase-history data may be stored at a locationaccessible to the eCommerce system (at block 4003). This includes but isnot limited to, the amount of each different types of additive purchasedover time and the date, time and quantity purchased, shipped andreceived by the customer/user and the like.

Periodically, an instruction to dispense an additive into the containeris sent from an application on the user's mobile device (at block 4004)and received by a processor in the container (at block 4005), and theadditive is dispensed (at block 4006). Data about that dispensing eventis subsequently sent back to the application on the user's mobile deviceand the dispensing/consumption history updated accordingly (at block4007). This includes but is not limited to, the amount of each differenttypes of additive dispensed over time and the date, time and quantitydispensed and the like. The additive purchase history data and theadditive dispensing history data is then correlated and compared (atblock 4008) and an estimate derived regarding a date/time when suppliesof that additive will be depleted (at block 4009). For example, a usermay have purchased 10 vessels of Vitamin B, each containing 1 oz. ofadditive, on 1 March. With standard shipping, the user would havereceived them on 3 March. The dispensing history on 13 March indicatesthat a total of 7 oz. of Vitamin B have been dispensed to date and therate of dispensing averages 0.7 oz. per day. Thus the system wouldpredict that supplies will be depleted on the 17 March (date 1) (atblock 4009). Given that it takes 2 days to ship the order, then it wouldbe predicted that the re-order threshold would be reached on the morningof 15 March (date 2) (at block 4010), when approximately 8.6 oz. ofadditive have been dispensed. Since additive dispensing and consumptionmay not be consistent day to day, then this prediction process may beperiodically repeated each time that a dispensing event occurs in orderto adjust the re-order threshold accordingly (at block 4011).

If the dispensing of Vitamin B is fairly consistent then the re-orderthreshold would be reached on the 15 March (at block 4012), and the userduly informed in sufficient time that supplies may be re-ordered andshipped to arrive on or before the point when supplies are depleted. Themargin, or amount of advance warning that the system provides may beconfigurable by the user in the eCommerce account. Similarly, theprocess preferred by the user in response to receiving an alert ornotification, may also be configurable. In one alternative process theuser may choose to automatically place a repeat purchase (at block 4013)when the threshold is reached in order to maintain uninterruptedcontinuity of supply. This may occur with or without any notificationbeing presented to the user. In a second alternative process the usermay wish to know that supplies are running low and choose if and when tore-order and/or to vary the quantity that is re-ordered. In thisinstance a notification or alert would be presented to the user on theuser's mobile device (at block 4014) and/or using the display on thecontainer itself (at block 4015). In response to this notification oralert, the user may choose to immediately confirm and place a purchase(at block 4016) by selecting the appropriate menu choice, or may chooseto add the order to his shopping cart and confirm and place the purchasesometime later (at block 4017).

Furthermore, in accordance with the aforementioned, if a user isconsuming the additive vessels at a slower-than-expected rate, or not atall, and/or they are consistently ‘rating’ the additives poorly on theportable container and/or on a peripheral system (e.g. mobileapplication) a system level prompt might incentivize or otherwiseencourage them to give their additive vessels to a social connection(friend) or to exchange them in some other fashion, so as to preservethe value of their experience. In a similar regard, if the additivevessels in question are due to expire in a certain timeframe, the systemmight similarly prompt the user to more rapidly use/consume theadditives, and/or share them so as to reduce the potential for wastedproduct. Thus prioritizing the dispensing system as such.

FIG. 41 shows an illustrative example of data communications betweencomponents of the eCommerce system in accordance with one or moreembodiments described herein. An order (4105) for the purchase ofadditives may be placed via an eCommerce site 4104 from a user's mobiledevice 4103, from a computer, or from another user device. A history ofthe user's additive and other purchases on the eCommerce site 4104 isstored therein and is updated with the latest purchase (4106). Thisupdated purchase history data is subsequently communicated (4107) fromthe eCommerce site 4104 to an application on the user's mobile device4103 and may be stored on the mobile device. Periodically, aninstruction to dispense an additive (4108) may be communicated from theuser's mobile device 4103 to a processor within the hydration container4102, which communicates (4108) with and/or acts upon the additivevessel 4101 to dispense the additive as instructed.

Following a dispensing event, additive data read from passive storagemeans on the additive vessel 4101, and other data about that event iscommunicated (4109) to a processor within the hydration container 4102and may be further communicated (4110) to an application on the user'smobile device 4103. The consumption and dispensing history of that useris then updated (4111) locally on the user's mobile device 4103 and may,immediately, or at some later time, be further communicated (4112) toupdate the dispensing history data stored at the eCommerce site 4104.

This updated dispensing information may then be used as an input topredict (4113) the date/time when the user's supplies of the additivewill be depleted. When a date/time threshold is reached when re-orderingneeds to take place in order for the products to be received beforeexisting supplies run out, then a notification or alert may be sent(4114) to the mobile application running on the user's device 4103 forpresenting to the user. This may be received by, and presented visuallyand/or audibly on the user's mobile device and/or further communicated(4115) to the hydration container 4102 and presented to the uservisually and/or audibly on the container assembly 4102 itself. Inresponse to the notification or alert, the user may interact with aninterface on the hydration container 4102 to re-order supplies ofadditives (4116), or may interact with an interface on the mobile device4103 to re-order additives (4417), and the stored purchase history dataupdated (4106) with this most recent purchase. The process describedabove may then be repeated periodically as dispensing events and/orpurchase events occur.

A hydration container system may be configured to enable a defined andlimited group of containers to be securely controlled and monitored by asingle, central mobile or fixed device or application with which allcontainers in the group are in direct or indirect communication, forexample, several different containers may be allocated to and used bymembers of a sports team. An application on the coach's computer, tabletor mobile device may provide a dashboard whereby the consumptionpatterns and behaviors of each member of the team can be monitored andfuture instructions or recommendations may be assigned by the coach, orrecommended by an application, and communicated back to each individualcontainer and/or individual. It may be, for example that to achieveoptimum performance in the days prior to a sports game, players requirea strict schedule of ingesting vitamins, nutritional supplements and thelike. In addition, the ideal schedule may not be the same for eachindividual sports player and such a system allows for each individualschedule to be different and to be optimized for that individual.Furthermore, a consumption schedule may also be dynamically adjusted,either automatically by the application or system, or manually by themonitoring person (e.g. team coach) according to the consumption timesand patterns communicated to the central application from thecontainers.

In a further, non-limiting, example, several different containers may beassigned to and used by inpatients in a medical or behavioral facility,or by outpatients. An application on the nurse or doctor's computer,tablet or mobile device may provide a dashboard enabling the medicalpractitioner to schedule, monitor, control and adjust a medication orpharmaceutical schedule independently for each patient. One example usecase is that of gastric surgery for weight loss which requires that thepost-operative patent maintain a very strict and tightly controlledregime of intake of nutrients, vitamins and supplements in order toensure full and timely recovery over a period of several weeks. This istypically difficult for an individual to easily maintain with therequired degree of accuracy. Furthermore, the reaction and/or efficacyof the dispensed additives in the aforementioned use-case scenariosmight be correlated or otherwise monitored through the combination ofsupporting data from other devices, such as wearable activity trackers,heart-rate monitors, and the like.

In a further embodiment, where the users of the multiple containers arewithin a Wi-Fi environment, a system may receive periodic dispensingstatus updates initiated by and communicated from each one of multiplecontainers within wireless range including an ID-specific to eachcontainer and/or user. Additional data about the time that a medicationwas dispensed into the container and the time that the container wastilted and/or the level of consumable liquid in the container decreased,enables a medical practitioner to determine whether the patient hasconsumed some of the liquid after dispensing and how much has beenconsumed.

FIG. 42 is an illustrative diagram of a system for controlling andmonitoring additive consumption within a closed group of consumers.

In a further example, clinical trials of a new drug or pharmaceuticalrequire a very strict and well controlled schedule of ingestion in orderto ensure the scientific accuracy and validity of the results of thetrial. In conducting such trials, a system for remotely controlling andmonitoring additive dispensing and consumption would be very beneficial.Furthermore, the reaction and/or efficacy of the dispensed additives inthe aforementioned use-case scenarios might be correlated or otherwisemonitored through the combination of supporting data from other devices,such as wearable activity trackers, heart-rate monitors, and the like.

FIG. 42 shows a number of portable container assemblies 100 having levelsensors 104 (e.g., infrared or other level sensing means) to determinethe level of liquid consumable stored within them. Examples of suchlevel sensors 104 include non-contact capacitive level sensing arrays,ultrasonic range-finder implementations, and/or load-cellimplementations. The level sensors 104 are in short range (e.g.,Bluetooth Low Energy or similar) wireless communication with the users'mobile devices 106. Each mobile device 106 may be in further wirelesscommunication (e.g., via Cellular or other Wide Area Networks) with areceiving device (e.g., laptop, PC, tablet etc.) having a control andmonitoring application 172. The control and monitoring application 172may transmit dispensing instructions to each of the container assemblies100 and may also receive data from the level sensors 104, as well asprocessors within the container assemblies 100.

In accordance with at least one embodiment, a user's mobile device 106may not be needed, and the container assemblies 100 may be in directwired or wireless communication with the control and monitoringapplication 172. In at least one other embodiment, communication maytake place via a charging coaster or other charging module, with thedata being stored in memory within the container assemblies 100 anduploaded when in contact with or connected to the charging device.

The example system and method presented above with respect to FIG. 42are further illustrated in FIG. 43 in the exemplary context ofmedication dispensing, described in greater detail below.

At block 4301, an application on a central monitoring devicecommunicates wirelessly to a user's mobile device, or directly to thecontainer, an instruction to dispense X-amount of additive-Y into theconsumable within the container. Prior to, or subsequent to thiscommunication IR, capacitive level sensing strip, or other sensors inthe container determine a first level of consumable within the containerat block 4302. If the IR, or capacitive level sensing strip, or othersensors in the container determine that the level of consumable in thecontainer is greater than a specific threshold then a dispensing modulewithin the container rotates to align with the additive vessel-Y atblock 4303 and a pressure applicator moves to apply pressure to additivevessel-Y, at block 4304 to force X-amount of additive-Y out of theadditive vessel and into the consumable liquid at block 4305. Carryingout a first determination of the level of consumable in the containerprior to the dispensing event may avoid additive being dispensed into anempty or near empty container, which could result in too high, or toolow a level of concentration of the additive in the consumable. At thistime a communication may be sent from the container to a centralmonitoring device or application to confirm that the additive has beendispensed from the additive vessel, that a dispensing failure hasoccurred or that the dispensing event was not carried out due to anabsence of, or insufficient quantity of consumable in the container.

It should be noted that although in the present example, the levelsensing technique focuses on infrared absorption/interference, that therelationship with a dispensing module, and/or additive vessel/s isachievable in different configurations with different technologies. Withregard to the aforementioned, such technologies might include ultrasonicrange finders, contact-based capacitive level sensing (for example, aprobe), non-contact capacitive level sensing (for example, a shroudedprinted circuit board assembly with active shielding elements to measuredielectric variation of a container), load-cell or other mass-measuringapparatus (whereby the system would extrapolate volume changes bychanges in mass/weight), a float mechanism might also be employed,whereby the level is measured directly by the relative height of aconstrained but movable float. The changes insubstrate/solute/target-fluid level/quantity ultimately inform trackablehydration targets, dispensing protocol, and/or other user and/or systemprompts. The implementation enables dynamic maintenance of thecharacteristics of the post-mix beverage in cases where theconcentration is modified and/or in cases where the post-mixconcentration requires adjustment. Furthermore, the approach enables forthe dynamic creation of beverages in response to the level of targetfluid/solute/substrate, whereby the measured level of the targetfluid/solute/substrate informs the dispensing module to modify,postpone, cancel, or otherwise adjust a dispensing protocol, and/orwhereby the measured level of the target fluid/solute/substrate informsa peripheral user interface (mobile application etc.) and subsequentlyprompts a data exchange, user-prompt, and the like.

At block 4306, the IR (or other) sensors determine a second level ofconsumable in the container and, at block 4307, the first level iscompared with the second level to determine whether the level haschanged in accordance with what would be expected due to theintroduction of X-amount of an additive-Y, and that the additive hasbeen successfully introduced into the consumable. This confirmation isthen sent from the container directly or indirectly to the centralmonitoring device or application. Since the level of consumable in thecontainer is known to the system, the level of concentration of theadditive in the consumable can therefore be determined and may also becommunicated to the central monitoring device or application. If thelevel of consumable has not changed then it may be concluded that adispensing failure has occurred. If the level changes from zero to anamount consistent with X-amount of additive-Y, then it may be concludedthat the additive vessel was empty before the additive was dispensed.

The container has an integrated display and methods of illuminationwhich can be used to communicate to a user, including a message thatdispensing has taken place or in about to take place and/or that thecontents (additive and consumable) should be consumed. As describedbelow, the next steps in this process are to determine if, when and howmuch of the consumable contents a user has consumed in response to thiscommunication.

Subsequently, at block 4308, the IR (or other) sensors determine a thirdlevel of consumable in the container. This may be scheduled to occurafter each dispensing event and/or may be initiated by the detection byinertial sensors at block 4309, that the container has been tilted. Thisthird level of consumable is compared with the second previous level atblock 4310 to determine whether the level of consumable has decreased.

If the inertial sensor at block 4309 indicates tilting and the level atblock 4308 is unchanged from the second level, it may be concluded thatnone of the contents have been consumed. If the inertial sensor at block4309 indicates tilting and the third level of consumable at block 4308has decreased, it may be concluded that the container was tilted for thepurpose of drinking and the user has consumed some of the contents andingested the medication. This determination may be supplemented with theduration of tilting, since mean rates of drinking can be estimated, thenthe length of time that a container was tilted may be a proxy for theamount of content consumed. In a further embodiment, each individualcontainer may monitor the rates at which the individual user drinks thecontents by means of a flowmeter, flowmeter-valve, or similar, anddetermine a mean or range for that particular user. In this way,estimates of the amount consumed as determined from the time andduration of tilting could be considerably more accurate.

At this time a communication may be sent from the container to a centralmonitoring device or application to confirm that the user has consumedthe medication. Since the amount of consumable and the amount ofadditive are known, the concentration can be determined and since theamount that has been consumed is also known, then the amount ofmedication ingested by the user/patient can be determined.

In accordance with at least one embodiment, the control and monitoringsystem may be in communication with a container and the dispensingmodule modified in order to dispense solid substances such as tablets,into a container which may be empty and does not contain a liquid or anyconsumable. Such a system may, for example control the timing with whichtablet or gel-form drugs are administered, preventing a user from takingthe drugs at incorrect intervals. Such a system could be particularlybeneficial in the case of patients suffering from Alzheimer's Syndromeor other conditions where cognitive capacity or judgment is impaired orfor the clinical trials of drugs.

In cases where it may not be possible for a central control device(e.g., computer, tablet, mobile device, and the like) to simultaneouslycommunicate with multiple containers, the method may require theapplication to sequentially communicate with each container in turn viaBluetooth or similar wireless technology, then disconnecting and pairingwith the next one. In this way a full cycle of connect/disconnect can becarried out in a timely manner. The aforementioned embodiment anduse-case would be ideal in group settings such as physician monitoringof patients/clients, or in a trainer or coach interfacing with a team ofplayers.

Data exchanges between the container, the users mobile device and thecentral device or application may also be implemented using cellularcommunications and/or internet protocol if the client containers are notwithin the range of a direct peer to peer wireless or Wi-Fi system.

FIG. 44 shows example data communications between a central control andmonitoring application 4402, data storage 4401 (e.g., local, network orcloud based memory), an application installed on a user device 4403,memory of the user device 4404, and a processor 4405 in one of aplurality of remote container assemblies. The central control andmonitoring application 4402 may communicate an additive dispensingschedule (4406) or dispensing event to the application on a user device4403 which is associated with the user's container. This dispensingschedule may then be further communicated to (4406) and stored in memory4404 associated with the application and may comprise a singledispensing event or multiple dispensing events over a period of minutes,hours, days or longer. Immediately prior to a scheduled dispensingevent, sensors determine a first level of consumable within thecontainer and communicate that first level 4407 to the application onthe user's mobile device, this may be further communicated (4407) to thecontrol application 4402. Periodically, according to the schedule, asignal (4408) may be communicated from the user device application 4403to the container processor 4405 to dispense an additive from one of theadditive vessels.

In an alternative embodiment, the signal to dispense additive (4409) maybe communicated directly from the control application 4402 to thecontainer processor 4405. The dispensing event (4410) then takes placeand feedback data about that event communicated (4411) from thecontainer processor 4405 to the user device application 4403, andfurther communicated (4411) from the user device application 4403 to thecontrol application 4402. The dispensing event data may also becommunicated (4411) to local memory storage 4404 in the user's device.In an alternative embodiment, feedback data about a dispensing event maybe communicated directly from the container processor 4405 to thecontrol application 4402 without requiring a user device as a wirelessrelay.

Following the dispensing event sensors determine a second level ofconsumable within the container and communicate that second level (4412)to the application on the user's mobile device 4403. Data about thedispensing event and the level of consumable prior to and following thedispensing event may be further communicated (4412) to the controlapplication 4402 and may be yet further communicated (4413) to local,network or cloud based memory 4401 associated with the controlapplication. This may also be communicated to (4413) and stored inmemory 4404 on the user's mobile device. The dispensing event data mayinclude, but is not limited to, the quantity of additive dispensed, thechange in level of consumable within the container immediatelyafterwards, date, time, and the like.

Consequently, historical data about dispensing events may be duplicatedand stored both in the user device 4404 and in memory 4401 associatedwith the control application. Thereby enabling the historical (pastdispensing and consumption) data to still be accessible to, and usableby the container processor 4405 to adjust future dispensing ifcommunications between the container 4405 and the control application4402 are not available. Subsequently, inertial sensors may detect amovement or tilting (4414) of the container assembly, which may promptthe sensors to determine a third level of consumable within thecontainer assembly and communicate that third level (4415) to theapplication on the user's mobile device 4403. The third level may befurther communicated (4415) to the control application 4402.

Past dispensing event data may be accessed (4416) from data storage 4401by the control application 4402 and used to revise a dispensing schedulewhich is then communicated (4417) to the user device application 4403and memory 4404. In this example the revised dispensing scheduleincludes the dispensing of additive B (4418).

FIG. 45 illustrates an example process for controlling a portable,self-contained beverage apparatus. In accordance with one or moreembodiments described herein, the process may be performed by orimplemented in a beverage apparatus that includes an internally disposeddispensing assembly having a plurality of apertures structured andarranged to receive and retain vessels containing additives to bedispensed into a consumable liquid stored in a container assembly of theapparatus. At block 4510, capacity information for the containerassembly may be stored, where the capacity information indicates astorage capacity of the container assembly for storing a consumableliquid. At block 4520, a consumable liquid level of a consumable liquidstored in the container assembly may be determined. For example, theconsumable liquid level may be determined using a sensor device disposedwithin the container assembly. At block 4530, the dispensing assemblymay be controlled to dispense variable, non-zero quantities of additivesfrom the vessels retained in the apertures into the consumable liquidbased on the determined consumable liquid level of the consumable liquidand the storage capacity of the container.

One or more embodiments of the present disclosure relate to portablecontainers, specifically, to such containers focused on hydrationtracking and the customized and variable dispensing of additives. In atleast one preferred embodiment, the aforementioned additives arecontained in discrete vessels designed to allow precise, repeatabledispense volumes based upon variable and modifiable compression. Themethods, systems, and apparatuses described herein should not beunderstood as limiting, and one skilled in the art will understand thatcomponents of the system and apparatuses described may be omitted orexpressed more broadly so as to focus on the unique aspects of thedisclosure.

The system and method in accordance with at least one embodimentinvolves a user configurable dispensing arm, adjustable to orientspecifically upon the desired additive vessel. The dispensing arm thenmay be further adjusted to modify the stroke length of the arm, therebydetermining the amount of vessel compression, and thus the quantity ofadditive dispensed. Such a system could be guided by an interface eitherdirectly on the device or peripheral to the device, such as on a user'smobile phone. In the aforementioned use cases, the interface may promptthe user to orient the dispensing arm on a particular additive vessel,and then to adjust the stroke length of the dispensing arm in accordancewith achieving a desired concentration. The final element of thismechanical process then involves the user depressing a mechanical switchthat drives the dispensing arm into the additive vessel.

In one embodiment, a successful dispense may be ascertained with amobile application engaging an optical reader to appraise the saturationand/or color of the combined fluid. If the combined fluid is too lightand/or under-saturated, a further dispense command may be prompted, inaccordance with the existing parameters, to achieve the desiredconcentration. If, conversely, the fluid is too dark and/or saturated,then a prompt might guide the user to dilute the combined fluid so as toachieve a desired concentration.

In accordance with at least one other embodiment, the system orapparatus may include a lid or other housing oriented upon threads thatcorrespond to a specific, pre-calibrated, compression range. In such anembodiment, a rotary potentiometer or other rotary position sensor orcounter may collect data throughout a dispensing event to monitor thequantity or rate of compression (for instance, a quarter twist mightcorrespond to a vertical compression of ⅛th of an inch, and subsequentlycorrespond to 3.5 mL of dispensed volume for a given additive vessel,and/or additive with known characteristics). Such a mechanism allows foran additive vessel with a variable, bursting valve to open temporarilyor permanently in a controlled and repeatable fashion. More ideally, thesystem, apparatus, and method allows for a valve to open and then close,dispensing an additive, while maintaining a pressure equilibrium,thereby preventing water ingress, while maintaining the reliability ofthe dispensing characteristics of the vessel.

In accordance with at least one other embodiment, a ratcheted calipermechanism is oriented upon an active face and/or active faces on adispensing vessel and allows for reliable, repeatable, dispense of theadditive whereby one increment of the ratchet might correspond to apre-calibrated and reliable compression of the additive vessel thatsubsequently corresponds to a known dispense volume. In this embodiment,a linear potentiometer or other position sensor or counter may collectdata throughout a dispensing event to monitor the quantity or rate ofcompression (for instance, a single ratchet increment might correspondto a lateral compression of 1/12th of an inch, and subsequentlycorrespond to 2 mL of dispensed volume for a given additive vessel,and/or additive with known characteristics). Such a mechanism allows foran additive vessel with a variable, bursting valve to open temporarilyor permanently in a controlled and repeatable fashion. More ideally, thesystem, apparatus, and method allows for a valve to open and then close,dispensing an additive, while maintaining a pressure equilibrium,thereby preventing water ingress, while maintaining the reliability ofthe dispensing characteristics of the vessel.

In yet another embodiment, a vessel might be compressed between tworollers that are themselves positioned on a rack with known, calibratedincrements. In the aforementioned embodiment, the vessel might bereceived in the rollers in such a way as to neutralize any empty volumein the vessel, thereby priming the vessel for accurate and precisedispensing. Once primed, the vessel could then be incrementallyflattened or otherwise compressed so that each increment initiates arepeatable and reliable dispense quantity. In such an embodiment, alinear potentiometer or other position sensor or counter might collectdata throughout a dispensing event to monitor the quantity or rate ofcompression (for instance, a single ratchet increment might correspondto a lateral compression of 1/12th of an inch, and subsequentlycorrespond to 2 mL of dispensed volume for a given additive vessel,and/or additive with known characteristics). Such a mechanism wouldallow for an additive vessel with a variable, bursting valve to opentemporarily or permanently in a controlled and repeatable fashion. Moreideally, the system, apparatus, and method allows for a valve to openand then close, dispensing an additive, while maintaining a pressureequilibrium, thereby preventing water ingress, while maintaining thereliability of the dispensing characteristics of the vessel.

Importantly, at least one embodiment of the present disclosure allowsfor real-time modification, creation, and/or maintenance of a functionalbeverage product based upon contextual data variables, such as weather,physical activity, eating behaviors, and the like. For instance, arecent ‘logging’ of a meal high in High Density Lipoproteins (HDL) mightinform the system that it is now optimal for the user to consume avitamin mix with a greater density of fat-soluble constituents.Furthermore, if there is a newly realized time-window for a specificadditive to be dispensed, the system might dispense that additive intoan existing post-mix beverage, thus modifying the beverage, in responseto the additional additive, the system might also prompt a dispenseevent of a ‘counter-balance’ flavor additive, to retain the same tasteand flavor characteristics, in place of or in supplement to theaforementioned step, the system might also prompt the user to fill thecontainer with more fluid so as to sufficiently dilute and/or dissolvethe new post-mix beverage to a target level.

Furthermore, one or more embodiments of the present disclosure alsoenables for a system capable of prompting a user to dispose of abeverage should theingredients/contents/experience/flavor/taste/consistency fall outside ofa target range, for instance if a degradable supplement is dispensedinto a target fluid/solution, and is not consumed within a specific timeframe, it may become unpalatable, ineffective, or even harmful to theuser, in this case, the system would have information related to theinitial dispensing event (the beverage ‘creation’ time) as well asambient conditions (such as temperature and humidity) thus providing thesystem with the necessary insights to formulate a determination as towhether or not the beverage is acceptable, if the beverage is deemedunacceptable, the user could be prompted to dispose of the beverage andto create a new one, or to consume something else as an alternative. Themyriad benefits of such a system include: consumer-experience-protection(in so far as the consumer will be less likely to consume a non-optimalbeverage, and thus damage their sentiment and/or experience with regardto the beverage brand), improved reliability of nutrition-contenttracking (in so far as the consumer will not be improperly trackingnutrients that are no longer viable), and in improved compliance for thebeverage makers from a regulatory standpoint (in so far as the created,post-mix beverage is readily adjustable in concentration/strength toprecisely and reliably account for ingredient degradation, and thus,create a beverage that reflects the nutrition-facts on the PrimaryDisplay Panel (PDP) of the additive vessel).

In alternate embodiments, and/or alternate use-cases, the system enablesthe guiding of a consumer experience with relation to a dispensing eventand to the post-mix beverage that is created by the dispensing event;with prompts either on the portable container itself or on a peripheraldevice (such as a user's mobile device), the system can instruct theuser to add an ice cube or to refrigerate the fluid/water to achieve atarget temperature range. This process is accomplished through theplacement and/or proximity of thermistors and/or equivalent temperaturesensing modalities (such as an infrared system), such that the system isable to measure directly, or infer/extrapolate indirectly, thetemperature of the target fluid/water, furthermore, the system is ableto execute and present an accurate estimate to guide the user tosufficiently adjust the temperature of the fluid based upon the data ithas insights into, the quantity of fluid, the type of fluid (if adispensing event has occurred), and the Specific Heat Capacity of thefluid, based upon these factors, the system can make an accuratedetermination as to the exact energy requirements to alter thetemperature of the fluid to a specific level. In the aforementionedembodiment, the system can make a determination that the post-mixbeverage should be X-degrees cooler, the system also estimates that astandard size ice cube has a capacity to cool this fluid by Y-degrees,and furthermore that a standard size ice cube will dilute the beverageby Z-quantity once melted, the resultant calculation derives that threeice cubes should be added to the beverage to cool it sufficiently,furthermore, the same calculation also derives that the dilutive effectof the added ice cubes will require X-mL of additional additive tocounteract the dilutive effect and retain the same flavor/taste profileof the post-mix beverage.

In an alternate scenario of the aforementioned, the user might prefer tocool their beverage by placing the post-mix beverage vessel into arefrigerator or freezer, in which case an assumed average cooling rateis applied against the known volume, Specific Heat Capacity of thetarget fluid, current temperature, and desired temperature, from thepreceding variables, the system can derive an estimated length of timethat the vessel should be placed in either the refrigerator or thefreezer, thus providing the user with the necessary guidance tosufficiently cool their beverage to a targeted point without under- orover-cooling the beverage.

In accordance with aforementioned embodiments, it should be apparent toone of ordinary skill in the art that the methods, systems, andapparatuses of the present disclosure are designed to include acalibrated and repeatable compression of a variably compressibleadditive vessel, further connected to a direct or indirect measurementmechanism. In the more idealized embodiments, the compression is set insuch a way so as to maintain the incrementally compressed state toprevent any water or air ingress, or any other conditional change thatwould impact the state of the additive and/or future dispensing events.The methods, systems, and apparatuses described herein offer improvedperformance and user experience over that of existing approaches byspecifying user adjustable, and user orientable mechanisms that areguided in some direct or indirect fashion to.

In a more advanced embodiment building upon all the aforementionedembodiments, dispensing events might be recorded or otherwise monitoredby a mobile application using acoustic methods. As a non-limitingexample, a ratcheted caliper might produce a distinctive ‘click’ uponbeing engaged by the user, the click might change in tone, pitch, orvolume based upon position and/or dispensing activity, a mobileapplication monitoring such a sound might be able to subsequently inferto what extent an additive vessel has been dispensed or otherwise actedupon.

In yet another embodiment, a mobile application might use a photographicor otherwise optical methodology to record the color, saturation,absorbance, reflection, or other visual property to make an inferentialestimation of the target liquids concentration, in this case, as itpertains to taste, nutritional characteristics, and the like.

One or more of the aforementioned embodiments relate to a dispensingsystem, an adjustable or otherwise personalized dispensing protocol,tracking or otherwise metering of a dispensing event, and userreplaceable containers, such that the critical components of the systemare interchangeable with various drinking vessels or hydration systems,fitting a user's preferences or use cases.

The above description focuses on a particularly important aspect, whichis a mechanical feature designed to standardize manual user-input so asto perform a precise, incrementally-defined dispensing event on at leastone additive vessel designed for multiple dispensing events andinterchangeable use within the same or multiple devices. The system alsomakes use of an embedded mechanism to track either directly orinferentially, the incremental dispensing, assigning data related andrelevant to the dispensing event, such as quantity, rate, volume, placeor time of consumption, post-dispense user-adjustments, and the like.

Furthermore, data about a user of the container 100 may be accessible toand/or obtainable by the container (e.g., by a processor or othercomponent of the container 100). For example, the container 100 mayreceive (e.g., retrieve, access, request, or otherwise obtain) dataabout the user that is stored, for example, in one or more databases orstorage devices 103 local to the user, within an application residing ona device of the user 106 (e.g., a portable user device, such as acellular telephone, smartphone, personal data assistant, laptop ortablet computer, etc.), and/or in network/cloud data storage 108, 107.In accordance with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure,the data about the user may include, for example, user demographicinformation (e.g., age, gender, weight, body mass index, etc.), additivepurchase history information, additive usage history information,charge/payment information for purchases, and various other dataassociated with the user or actions of the user. In this manner, suchdata about the user of the container 100 may be collected, analyzed,and/or communicated by the container 100 (e.g., by a processor and/orother components of the container 100), and made available to the deviceof the user 106, to one or more other devices of the user, to the one ormore databases or storage devices local to the user, to thenetwork/cloud data storage 108, 107, and the like.

Furthermore, one or more APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) froma mobile device application associated with the container 100 mayinterface with and access data from other applications running on adevice of the user (e.g., user device 106), where such data may include,but is not limited to, geo-location, time, local weather conditions,temperature, personal schedule (e.g., from a calendar application), etc.APIs to third party applications may also be used by the container 100to access user data about the recent physical activity of the user. Forexample, data may be obtained from a variety of existing or futurepersonal physical activity tracking/monitoring devices (e.g., Fitbit,Apple HealthKit, etc.), any of which can furnish various data related tophysical activity of the user. Some non-limiting examples of the type ofdata that may be obtained from such physical activitytracking/monitoring devices include data about the type of physicalactivity undertaken by the user, the number of steps taken by the userduring a period of time, speed of motion, estimated energy expenditure(e.g., calories burned), etc. Accordingly, data about the user'sphysical activity levels and activity history may be collected,analyzed, and/or communicated by the container 100 (e.g., by a processorand/or other components of the container 100).

All or a portion of the data described above may be communicated to orotherwise retrieved by one or more processors which may be locatedwithin the consumable container 100 or external to the consumablecontainer 100 (e.g., in the user's mobile device 106, in the cloudnetwork 108, etc.), where the data may be used to derive more specificand focused patterns and trends about an individual's activity,purchase, and/or consumption behaviors.

Therefore, data about a user's consumable liquid consumption and/or auser's additive consumption may be communicated from the container (orfrom an associated mobile device) to an eCommerce system. In accordancewith one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, such datacommunicated to the eCommerce system may include any of the followingnon-exhaustive and non-limiting examples:

Data about the additives including, but not limited to the types ofadditive, the amount initially in the vessel, the date/time that vesselwas inserted in the container, the total amount dispensed, the date/timeand frequency with which the additive was dispensed, the concentrationlevels and limits, the mix of additives typically combined and insertedin container together and the like.

Data about the consumable liquid including, but not limited to the levelof consumable in the container at any time, the level prior to and aftereach dispensing event, the amount consumed on an hourly, daily or othertime period, variation in consumption rate over a time period and thelike.

Data about the user of the container including, but not limited to theuser's age, gender, weight, the types and quantities of additivespreviously consumed, user preferences, etc.

Data about the context of use, for example, the number of steps the userhas walked this day and previous days, geo-location, direction and/orspeed of movement of the user (e.g., to identify when the user iswalking, jogging, cycling, etc.), time of day, time zone, local weatherconditions, etc.

In accordance with at least one embodiment, the eCommerce system mayhave access to stored data about the user's additive purchase historyincluding, for example, what was purchased, when and in whatcombinations such purchases were made, the frequency of reorderingadditives, etc. Furthermore, inertial sensors in the container mayadditionally communicate data including when a container is tilted forthe purposes of drinking and the duration that it was tilted, as anindicator of the volume of consumable consumed.

Data from these various sources can be processed and combined to trackan individual's purchase and consumption patterns. The followingpresents some exemplary use cases to further illustrate such features ofthe present disclosure.

A user generally consumes 4 liters of consumable liquid per day butanalysis of this data over a period a several days indicates that theconsumption level is decreasing and will shortly pass below arecommended threshold level. As a result, an alert indicating that theuser should increase consumption may be communicated to the user via,for example, a mobile device associated with the user, or via a displayon the consumable container, or the like.

A user generally consumes 5 ounces (oz.) of flavoring A, 2 oz. ofvitamin B, and 1 oz. of nutritional supplement C in a certain timeperiod. This relative consumption data may be used to recommend bundledpackages of additive purchases which are closely aligned with thatuser's predicted consumption patterns. As the relative consumptionquantities of the user change over time, the bundled packagesrecommended by the system change accordingly.

A user purchased N additive vessels (where “N” is an arbitrary number)of a certain type on a certain date, and the rate of dispensing of thatadditive indicates a likelihood that the user will run out of supplieson some date subsequent to the purchase. An alert or message advisingthe user to order new supplies and providing an immediate means of doingso may be communicated to the user via, for example, a mobile deviceassociated with the user, or via a display on the consumable container,or the like.

A user consumes different additives when in different locations. Forexample, the user consumes more energy boosting additives when atlocation A, which is visited on a regular weekly schedule or basis. Thismight suggest that location A corresponds to a gym or fitness facility.Consequently, tracking location and movements enables more accurateprediction of likely future additive purchase needs. The processor ofthe container assembly also has access to data about the user such assettings, preferences and personal/demographic data, which may belocally stored in onboard memory within the container and/or in themobile device memory. The processor may additionally have access to dataabout other consumables such as snack bars, which the user may eat andthis data may be imported into the system independently of themeasurement and identification of consumable liquid by means of an RFIDantenna or similar method, by manual input by the user, or by othermeans.

All of the above listed data may be communicated to a processorassociated with an eCommerce site from where the additives wereobtained, the processor additionally having access to the user'spurchase history stored within. Various combinations of these rich datasources can then be made accessible to a data analytics andrecommendation engine to generate recommendations to the user aboutshort term actions for example, drinking more consumable liquid and/orlong term actions for example purchase recommendations, which may becommunicated to the user via the mobile device, via a display on theportable container or by other means. Individual purchase andconsumption data may be aggregated across a population of users and usedto determine broader patterns, some exemplary use cases are as follows:

The types of additives generally purchased and consumed are different indifferent areas of the country (which might be expected due to variousfactors including variations in climate for example). This data may beused to influence the advertising and marketing of additives indifferent regions.

Sales of an additive show a short term spike following an advertisingcampaign in a specific region of the country. This data can be used toquantify the impact of advertising and marketing campaigns.

A high proportion of the population set the concentration level of aflavoring additive higher than that which is recommended, this datasuggests that the recommendation should be changed.

There is a significant increase in the purchase and consumption ofcertain health supplements at the beginning of winter, this datasuggests that the cold & flu season may be starting.

Users who bought additives a, b and c, also tend to buy additives c andd, therefore this correlation is factored into the additiverecommendation engine.

In accordance with one or more embodiments, population trends may bedetermined according to, for example, one or more of the following: (1)location, such as regional preferences for additives (e.g., at country,state, town, and/or zip code levels), location hotspots for additiveconsumption (e.g., health club geolocation); (2) time, such as additiveconsumption trends by time of day, by day of week, seasonal trends bymonth and long term consumption trends over years, indicating longlifecycle trends and changes in population taste and preference; and (3)time and associated event, such as advertising campaigns, transienthealth alerts (e.g., pandemics, outbreaks, etc.), flu outbreaks, citymarathons and other public sporting events. It should be understood thatthere are many ways in which the additive, consumable, consumption anduser data may be combined with location, activity and other context dataand further combined with purchase history data in order to generatepurchase recommendations of vale and benefit to the user of a portablecontainer.

Functional beverages increasingly account for a larger portion ofrevenue share in the global beverage industry. These beverages arecharacterized broadly in their attributes focused on cause-and-effectnutritional goals, such as energy drinks for example which might exploitB-Vitamins and Caffeine, or relaxation beverages for example, whichmight exploit Valerian Root and Melatonin, and the like. These beveragesexploit ingredients that are in some cases water-soluble, however it isnot a limiting factor, as complete or partial emulsions are readilysold, and accepted. In the prior art, systems that segregate the solutefrom the solution (in this case, active ingredients or degradablevitamins) account for the degradation concerns of the constituentingredients, which in most cases relates to the biological efficacy andavailability of a soluble vitamin complex, whereby the solubilizedvitamin components lose their efficacy as a result of being mixed.

What is lacking in the prior art however is a system that allows formultiple functional additives to be stored carried, or otherwise madeavailable for a target solute, and for such functional additives to bevariable in a non-zero sense in their dispensing behaviors, specific tothe customized creation and/or maintenance of a functional beverage.Whereby functional beverage products are dynamically “created” fromnon-functional beverage products, in constantly variable ways, withoutnecessitating compromise on product integrity and/or experience.Furthermore, a functional beverage containing degradable products can bedynamically maintained such that the functional contents of a solutemaintain their functional characteristics independently of degradingexternal conditions. The embodiment of the present disclosure relatesspecifically to such a system, designed to accomplish theaforementioned, as well as to specifically address the dynamic needs offunctional products and the like. It should be obvious to one learned inthe art, that such a system should not be limited to functional beverageproducts, and that an identical embodiment would have applicabilityacross a wide range of consumable-oriented scenarios, including but notlimited to medicines, supplements, beverages, and the like.

In the aforementioned case, and in the preferred embodiment, the systemcomprises of a portable device with multiple apertures to contain andorient additive vessels containing functional ingredients/additives, anda context-driven mechanical or electromechanical dispensing module thatdispenses variable non-zero quantities of said additive into the targetsolute, and in doing so vary not only the type of functional additive,but the combination of multiple additives, and/or the concentration oroverall quantity of the additive. Such a mechanism allows not only forthe functional ingredients to remain segregated (and thus moreeffective), but also for their concentration to be modified dynamicallyin response to numerous relevant or related factors either directly orautomatically. Such a mechanism allows for the dynamic transformation ofnon-functional beverages into functional beverages, withoutnecessitating reformulation at the bottling site, and withoutnecessitating a change in the user experience of the beverage as itrelates to taste, consistency, density. The system thus permits fordynamic creation of functional beverages in customized, personalizedfashion, without requiring homogenous system-level reformulation, andwithout compromising on product integrity.

Importantly, at least one embodiment of the present disclosure allowsfor real-time modification, creation, and/or maintenance of a functionalbeverage product based upon contextual data variables, such as weather,physical activity, eating behaviors, and the like. For example, a recent‘logging’ of a meal high in High Density Lipoproteins (HDL) might informthe system that it is now optimal for the user to consume a vitamin mixwith a greater density of fat-soluble constituents, thereby promptingthe dispensing mechanism in the present disclosure to orient upon thetarget additive vessel (or vessels) and to further drive theelectromechanical elements responsible for delivering adispense-triggering force in a manner that corresponds, according to theknown variables, to a particular dispense volume and correspondingconcentration that accounts for the new user conditions.

Furthermore, if there is a newly realized time-window for a specificadditive to be dispensed, the system might dispense that additive intoan existing post-mix beverage, thus modifying the beverage, in responseto the additional additive, the system might also prompt a dispenseevent of a ‘counter-balance’ flavor additive, to retain the same tasteand flavor characteristics, in place of or in supplement to theaforementioned step, the system might also prompt the user to fill thecontainer with more fluid so as to sufficiently dilute and/or dissolvethe new post-mix beverage to a target level.

Furthermore, at least one embodiment of the present disclosure alsoenables for a system capable of prompting a user to dispose of abeverage should theingredients/contents/experience/flavor/taste/consistency fall outside ofa target range, for instance if a degradable supplement is dispensedinto a target fluid/solution, and is not consumed within a specific timeframe, it may become unpalatable, ineffective, or even harmful to theuser, in this case, the system would have information related to theinitial dispensing event (the beverage ‘creation’ time) as well asambient conditions (such as temperature and humidity) thus providing thesystem with the necessary insights to formulate a determination as towhether or not the beverage is acceptable, if the beverage is deemedunacceptable, the user could be prompted to dispose of the beverage andto create a new one, or to consume something else as an alternative. Themyriad benefits of such a system include: consumer-experience-protection(in so far as the consumer will be less likely to consume a non-optimalbeverage, and thus damage their sentiment and/or experience with regardto the beverage brand), improved reliability of nutrition-contenttracking (in so far as the consumer will not be improperly trackingnutrients that are no longer viable), and in improved compliance for thebeverage makers from a regulatory standpoint (in so far as the created,post-mix beverage is readily adjustable in concentration/strength toprecisely and reliably account for ingredient degradation, and thus,create a beverage that reflects the nutrition-facts on the PrimaryDisplay Panel (PDP) of the additive vessel).

In alternate embodiments, and/or alternate use-cases, the system enablesthe guiding of a consumer experience with relation to a dispensing eventand to the post-mix beverage that is created by the dispensing event;with prompts either on the portable container itself or on a peripheraldevice (such as a user's mobile device), the system can instruct theuser to add an ice cube or to refrigerate the fluid/water to achieve atarget temperature range. This process is accomplished through theplacement and/or proximity of thermistors and/or equivalent temperaturesensing modalities (such as an infrared system), such that the system isable to measure directly, or infer/extrapolate indirectly, thetemperature of the target fluid/water, furthermore, the system is ableto execute and present an accurate estimate to guide the user tosufficiently adjust the temperature of the fluid based upon the data ithas insights into, the quantity of fluid, the type of fluid (if adispensing event has occurred), and the Specific Heat Capacity of thefluid, based upon these factors, the system can make an accuratedetermination as to the exact energy requirements to alter thetemperature of the fluid to a specific level. In the aforementionedembodiment, the system can make a determination that the post-mixbeverage should be X-degrees cooler, the system also estimates that astandard size ice cube has a capacity to cool this fluid by Y-degrees,and furthermore that a standard size ice cube will dilute the beverageby Z-quantity once melted, the resultant calculation derives that threeice cubes should be added to the beverage to cool it sufficiently,furthermore, the same calculation also derives that the dilutive effectof the added ice cubes will require X-mL of additional additive tocounteract the dilutive effect and retain the same flavor/taste profileof the post-mix beverage.

Furthermore, in an alternate embodiment of the scenario in theaforementioned, the user might prefer to cool their beverage by placingthe post-mix beverage vessel into a refrigerator or freezer, in whichcase an assumed average cooling rate is applied against the knownvolume, Specific Heat Capacity of the target fluid, current temperature,and desired temperature, from the preceding variables, the system canderive an estimated length of time that the vessel should be placed ineither the refrigerator or the freezer, thus providing the user with thenecessary guidance to sufficiently cool their beverage to a targetedpoint without under- or over-cooling the beverage.

The portable beverage creation system described in at least oneembodiment of the present disclosure can also account precisely, andadjust or otherwise maintain, with an environmental and time dynamic,the functional characteristics of a beverage that might degrade overtime, or upon exposure to particular conditions, lose their efficacy.The system thus dispenses additives and/or functional ingredients inresponse to the user requirements and/or preferences, but also inresponse to the chemical sensitivities of the ingredients themselves. Inyet another embodiment of the aforementioned, the dispensing modalitycan take into account and adjust for the time degradation of thefunctional ingredients within readable additive vessels such that aconsistent functional concentration can be dispensed reliably whetherthat requires the dispensing system to dispense a larger or smaller netquantity by volume of the additive, the mechanism would be capable ofmaintaining the functional characteristics of the ingredient inquestion. Furthermore, as an additional step of the aforementioned, thesystem would be capable of addressing flavor aspects of theaforementioned action, for example, if the additive requires an extra 5mL to maintain its functional properties, said additive might alter theflavor and/or user experience of the composite beverage, in response,the dispensing mechanism would dispense an appropriate and correspondingquantity of the flavor additive.

In accordance with at least one embodiment, the system leverages aread/write capability and interface between the additive vessel and thedispensing system or dispensing module, encoded within the communicabledata element of the additive vessel is information relevant to thedynamic qualities of the contents of the additive vessel, suchinformation might include: the bottling date, temperature of storagefacilities, time of opening, transit time, local storage conditions,etc. All the aforementioned data points can be reliably encoded insimple, purely numeric form on an RFID tag or equivalent data structure.The RFID tag in the preferred embodiment has information unique andspecific to the bottling location, time, date, and the contents of theadditive vessel.

Leveraging this data, and reconciling it against known content dynamics,the dispensing system can infer the state of degradation of a particularingredient or a plurality thereof, and subsequently adjust for saiddegradation by adjusting dispense-rate and/or dispense-volume. Themechanism adjusts for the degradation two-fold; first by adjusting forgross degradation of the vessel contents itself, thereby adjusting theentire dispensing protocol (in a simple example, an assumed degradationrate of 10% might result in an increase of dispense volume by 10%,thereby neutralizing the impact of the degradation from apotency/effectiveness/functional standpoint.) Building upon theaforementioned, and leveraging a similar protocol, the rate ofconsumption combined with local conditions might result in a calculationthat infers that at least one ingredient in a functional solute hasdegraded in potency/effectiveness/functionality and subsequently needsadjusting as a result, thus impacting the dynamics of the mixed beverageitself, as opposed to making a gross adjustment accounting for thevessel. It is reasonable that in most cases, both approaches would bedeployed to complement one another. Thus, the system would make ageneral adjustment for an initial dispensing event, and then upon thecreation of the mixed beverage, the dispensing system would adjust thebeverage to maintain key functional aspects of a degradable ingredientor ingredients.

A valuable element of this embodiment is found in the impact it wouldhave on the supply-chain and storage of functional ingredients. Thepresent approach necessitates the destruction of products that no longercontain the stated daily-values (DV) of a key ingredient or ingredients.This is especially pronounced in FDA regulated vitamins and supplements,whereby a product with 80% DV of Vitamin-E (as an example) would be outof compliance, should the actual DV in a serving fall outside of anacceptable range. In the case where the embodiment of the presentdisclosure is implemented effectively, the data underlying the systemwould inform the dispensing mechanism of this degradation, and thus,seamlessly adjust for it. The result being a post-mix beverage ofidentical functional characteristics, independent of component-leveldegradation in the additive vessel/s. The embodiment of the presentdisclosure subsequently enables for significantly decreased waste ofproducts subject to degradation that might render them unsellabledespite their ultimate consumable, sanitary state.

In another embodiment, the portable container might leverage onboardsensors such as Near Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) within theelectromagnetic spectrum (generally considered between 700 nm and 2500nm) In the preferred embodiment, Emitters and Receivers leveraging thistechnique directly extrapolate hydration, blood oxygenation levels,pulse/heart-rate levels, and blood sugar/glucose levels from a user'shand or lips, providing the device with highly accurate real-time datarelevant not only to hydration guidance but also to the recommendationand/or deployment of the additives themselves. The monitoring of thebiological markers via NIRS (blood oxygenation, pulse/heart-rate, heartrate variability, and hydration level (absolute tissue saturation, orStO₂)) serves a two-fold purpose for providing insight towardsdispensing recommendations based upon existing biological state, as wellas to track the users' reactions (or lack thereof) to specificingredients. In the preferred embodiment, NIRS techniques are leveragedas they require little to zero preparation of any sample, and also donot require direct measurement of a mass or liquid. The NIRS spectra inthe preferred, and more efficient embodiment does not require a directprocess and extrapolation of the spectra, instead, it requires that thespectra be processed and compared against a library of known spectraaccounting for distinctive features of targeted variables. Preferredtechniques include Partial Least Squares (PLS), PLS Regression, andPrincipal Components Analysis. NIRS technique emitters and/or receiversare mounted in such a way as to monitor the hand of the user, on theportable beverage container, and/or for the lips of the user by placingthe emitters and/or receivers on the drinking spout, oriented in a wayto obtain data from the capillary bed on the inside wall of the lowerlip, in the ideal embodiment. One learned in the art will understandthat identical or equally insightful results could be produced withdiffering placement of such a system.

Furthermore, this aforementioned real-time data would be associated withactivities, locations, and/or environmental conditions, identifyingvalidity/invalidity in associated data sets with wearable technologydevices and or other activity and/or physiological data trackers ormonitoring devices. For instance, the sensors might detect a higher thannormal dehydration rate and/or electrolyte loss-rate associated with aspecific activity, thus developing the relevant feedback loop torecommend a more precise hydration protocol and/or additiverecommendation/purchase/dispense cycle.

In yet another embodiment, the portable container might leverage onboardsensors to monitor the inflammatory response of the user to correlatemetabolic reaction/response to various ingredients. One with an ordinaryunderstanding of the art will understand that other bio-markers and/orphysiological data points could be measured or otherwise monitored, andthat such bio-markers and/or data points could be measured or otherwisemonitored through a variety of sensor and/or data collection techniquesor implementations. Such approaches might include galvanic skinresponse, heart-rate, temperature, absolute tissue saturation, oxygensaturation, blood-pressure, and the like, depending on what healthaspects are being evaluated, and which additives and/or substances arebeing evaluated, different approaches, techniques, sensors, and/or datasets might be considered. Such a system might then operate to identifynascent, or previously unidentified allergies and/or sensitivities.

Furthermore, in a similar fashion, monitoring the feedback loop betweenadditives consumed and/or logged food, and/or the aforementioned inisolation or combination, against physical activity in a fitness sense,in aggregate, would allow for the system to identify or otherwise makerecommendations as to what additives, foods, and the like contributemost effectively to an individual's performance and health, whethercorrelated and/or extrapolated by fitness data, by sleep data, byself-reporting via the portable container, and/or by a peripheral device(e.g. a user application on a mobile device, etc.) In accordance withthe aforementioned, the data loop associated with the device is itself arefinement engine for a recommendations platform for the discovery,recommendation, purchase, dispensing, and/or consumption of additivesand/or substances dispensed, tracked, or otherwise utilized by theoverall system described herein, these recommendations might be furthercompared or otherwise evaluated against subsequent use-cases, furtherrefined by user characteristics in the aforementioned, therebyidentifying false-positives, false-negatives, true-positives, andtrue-negatives with regard to recommendations and/or predictions againstknown data.

In another embodiment, the portable container might leverage thecapabilities of both the device itself, and the supporting data andnetwork mechanisms to adjust the functional elements of additives and/orbeverage products, within contexts of user characteristics, userpreferences, user use-cases, environmental conditions, and prior dataassociated with any of the aforementioned, oriented around predictiverecommendations.

FIGS. 46A and 46B illustrate a beverage container assembly 4600 inaccordance with various embodiments that will be shown in further detailin subsequent FIGS. 47-55 and the corresponding further description thatfollows. As will be understood by one skilled in the art, the variousfeatures and functionality described above and elsewhere in thisdisclosure can be applied, combined and used in conjunction with thecontainer assembly 4600 in accordance with the various embodimentsdescribed below.

FIG. 46A illustrates an isometric view while FIG. 46B illustrates across section cutaway view of the beverage container assembly 4600. Thebeverage container assembly 4600 includes a beverage chamber housing4614, which forms a portion of a chamber 4630 to contain a beverage. Thebeverage chamber housing 4614 can be configured with an open threadedbase that threads on to a top end of a dispensing assembly 4613. A topportion of the dispensing assembly 4613 can include a platform 4618,which can form a bottom half of the chamber 4630 to contain thebeverage. The dispensing assembly 4613 can house containers of additivesto be dispensed into the chamber 4630, a dispensing mechanism configuredcontrol the addition of the additives, and electronics configured tocontrol the dispensing mechanism. A removable base cover 4620 can beconfigured to thread on to and off of a bottom end of the dispensingassembly 4613 in order to provide access to insert and remove containersof additives. Consistent with the description above, each of thesecontainers of additives will be referred to below as an additive vessel4802 (see FIGS. 48A, 49A and 49B).

The container assembly 4600 can include a removable cap 4612, which, inthe illustrated embodiment, seals a top opening of a beverage chamberhousing 4614 to complete the chamber 4630. The cap 4612 can beconfigured to thread or snap on to a top end of the beverage chamberhousing 4614. Referring to FIG. 46B, in one embodiment, the cap 4612includes a compressible bladder 4640 formed of silicone or othersuitable rubber, that allows for deformation of the bladder so as toaccommodate the addition of liquid additives into the chamber 4630 bythe dispensing assembly 4613. The cap 4612 also includes an airpassageway 4642 to allow air to escape from behind the bladder 4640 sothat the bladder can compress to accommodate the addition of the liquidadditives.

Referring to FIG. 46A, the dispensing assembly 4613 can be furtherconfigured with a user interface 4622, which can include a display 4611and one or more user input buttons 4616. In the illustrated embodimentof FIG. 46, the display 4611 includes five LEDs, with three LEDs in atriangle that can be configured to indicate selection of one of threeadditive vessels. Another LED can be configured to indicate a power onor wake up condition of the dispensing assembly, and yet another LEDthat can be configured to indicate that a dispensing of an additive tothe beverage chamber housing 4614 has been selected. The LEDs may usespecific lensing or may be embedded behind a micro-perforated materialto abstract the user from the physical components of the LEDs. In oneembodiment, a single user input button can be configured as amulti-function button to perform different actions depending on theamount of pressure applied to it by the user, by duration of pressesand/or by quantity of presses. The button can also be configured toaccommodate partial or complete depression of the differentiated by aperceptible detent or click in order further provide variedfunctionality. The user interface can provide a means for the user to,for example, dispense an additive from an additive vessel or display thecurrent battery level of the system and apparatus.

FIG. 47 illustrates a view of the dispensing assembly 4613 with thebeverage chamber housing 4614 removed. A top portion of the dispensingassembly 4613 includes an annular wall with threads 4702 that engagewith matching threads on the beverage chamber housing 4614. The topportion of the dispensing assembly 4613 can also include the platform4618 to form a base for the beverage chamber housing 4614 in order tocontain the beverage within the chamber 4630. The platform 4618 caninclude one or more outlet ports 4706 through which additives are addedto the beverage in the chamber, and in the illustrated embodiment, threesuch ports are shown. In one embodiment, each port 4706 can be sealed bya one-way valve 4708 (e.g. an umbrella valve of rubber or silicone) thatpermits one way passage of a liquid additive into the chamber. As willbe discussed below, each one-way valve 4708 can form part of a pumpingmechanism 5002 (FIG. 50) that injects liquid additives into the chamber.In one embodiment, the pumping mechanism 5002 is a reciprocatingpositive displacement pump.

FIG. 47 also illustrates an ultrasonic fluid level sensor 4730 disposedon or within the platform 4618. In accordance with one embodiment, thefluid level sensor 4730 uses round trip time for a reflected sound waveto measure the height of a fluid or water column within the chamber 4630and thereby infer fill volume.

FIGS. 48A and 48B illustrate a bottom view of the dispensing assembly4613 with the base cover 4620 removed. FIG. 48A shows the ends of eachof three additive vessels 4802 that are threaded into threecorresponding receptacles or apertures 4804 shown in FIG. 48B. While theterm “receptacle” is used in the description that follows, for thepurpose of consistency with various embodiments described above, thereceptacles 4804 can also be referred to as “apertures”.

It should be noted that FIG. 48A shows, near the vessels 4802, a numberof semicircular artifacts that could not be easily removed from anavailable CAD rendering. These artifacts do not form any part of theillustrated embodiment and should be ignored by the reader.

FIGS. 49A and 49B illustrate an isometric perspective view and a crosssection cutaway view of an additive vessel 4802 in accordance with oneembodiment. The vessel 4802 can include a housing 4904, which can becylindrical in shape to fit into a corresponding cylindrically shapedreceptacle 4804. At a proximal end, the housing 4904 can be covered witha threaded cap 4906, which snaps onto the housing 4904 and the threadsof which also engage with receiving threads in a receptacle 4804 to lockthe additive vessel 4802 in place within the dispensing assembly 4613.At a distal end, the vessel 4802 includes a piston head 4908 thatincludes a port 4910 that is capped by another one-way valve 4912 (e.g.an umbrella valve of rubber or silicone). The port 4910 and one-wayvalve 4912 function to permit additive to flow in only one directionfrom the vessel 4802 and into a pumping chamber 5011 of the pumpingmechanism 5002 (FIG. 50).

Referring to FIG. 49B, a slideable plunger 4920 is disposed within aninterior portion of the housing 4904. The interior of the housing andthe exterior of the plunger can be a matching cylindrical shape suchthat the plunger can slide along the length of the housing, from theproximal to the distal end of the housing as additive contained withinthe housing is dispensed from the vessel. The plunger is preferablyformed of soft plastic such as LDPE that seals against the interior ofthe housing and moves so that no air is allowed into the vessel 4802during dispensing of the additive.

FIGS. 50 and 50A-C illustrate a cutaway cross section of the dispensingassembly showing the operation of the pumping mechanism 5002 for anadditive vessel 4802. FIG. 50 shows an enlarged view of a portion ofFIG. 50B showing the pumping mechanism 5002 in a partially actuatedstate. As illustrated, the vessel 4802 is threaded into the receptacle4804 such that the piston head 4908 of the vessel 4802 engages with ahousing of the receptacle to form a piston 5010. The piston 5010 canslide back and forth within a pumping chamber 5011 formed by a cylinder5012 of a pump housing 5014. As noted above, the piston head 4908includes a one-way valve 4912 that permits flow from the vessel 4802into the pumping chamber 5011. At an opposite end of the chamber 5011from the piston head 4908, the second one-way valve 4708 permits liquidadditive to flow from the pumping chamber 5011 into the beverage chamberas the piston 5010 moves forward in the cylinder 5012.

FIG. 50A shows the receptacle 4804 and piston 5010 in a startingposition and the plunger 4920 of the additive vessel 4802 in an initialposition prior to any additive being dispensed from a full vessel. Asshown in in FIG. 50B, the piston 5010 is withdrawn, and the one-wayvalve 4708 at the outlet port 4706 blocks fluid flow in the reversedirection, creating the vacuum which draws fluid from the additivevessel 4802 through the one-way valve 4912 into the pumping chamber5011. It should be noted that in FIG. 50B, the plunger 4920 has movedfrom its staring position illustrated in FIG. 50A to accommodate fluidflow from the vessel 4802 into the pumping chamber 5011. As shown inFIG. 50C, the piston 5010 is driven to back to its starting position,compressing the fluid within the chamber 5011 and forcing it through theone-way valve 4708 at the outlet port 4706 and into the beverage chamber4630. The one-way valve 4912 blocks the flow of fluid from returninginto the vessel 4802. Positive pressure, accordingly, is produced inthis compression stoke, dispensing the contents of the pump chamberthrough the outlet port 4706 into the beverage chamber 4630.

The volume dispensed during a single piston stroke can be modulatedlinearly by modifying the piston stroke length. Multiple piston strokescan be used to dispense larger quantities. By design, the volume of thepumping chamber can be configured to be as small as practically possiblewhen the piston 5010 is in the starting position to avoid wastingadditive liquid when a depleted additive vessel is withdrawn from thereceptacle.

FIGS. 51A and 51B illustrate views a drive mechanism 5110 for actuatingthe receptacle 4804 and associated piston 5010 of the pumping mechanism5002. FIG. 51A illustrates an internal perspective view of thedispensing assembly 4613 without an outer cover. FIG. 51B illustrates anadditional internal perspective view of the dispensing assembly 4613without further structure removed to better illustrate certain aspectsof the drive mechanism 5110. As illustrated, each receptacle 4804 andits associated piston 5010 (not visible in FIGS. 51A-B) is moved downand up by an internally threaded toothed ring 5120. A set of internalthreads 5122 on each internally threaded toothed ring 5120 engage with athreaded extension 5210 (FIG. 52B) of the pump housing 5014. Eachinternally threaded toothed ring 5120, can be driven by a gear 5130,which in turn can be driven by an optional gearbox 5132, which in turnis driven by an electric motor 5134.

FIGS. 52A and 52B illustrate an elevation view of the drive mechanismwith the receptacle in a starting position (52A) and in a withdrawnposition (52B). As the toothed ring 5120 rotates, the internal threads5122 cause the toothed ring to rise and fall on the threaded extension5210 of the pump housing 5014. The receptacle, which can be snapped intoor adhered to the toothed ring 5120, also therefore rises and falls withthe toothed ring, causing the piston 5010 to move within the cylinder5012. In accordance with one embodiment, the threads on the toothed ring5120 and the threaded extension 5210 are a “fast” 4-start thread thatcause the toothed ring 5120 to travel to full linear extension with 180degrees of rotation. The threads can be configured to have an ACMEprofile or similar.

FIG. 53 illustrates a cross section of an internally threaded toothedring 5120 engaged with a threaded extension 5210 (FIG. 52B) of the pumphousing 5014.

FIGS. 54A-C illustrate three difference cross sectional cutaway views ofthe dispensing assembly 4613.

FIGS. 55A-B illustrate isometric and cutaway views of the removable cap4612. As discussed above with reference to FIG. 46, in the illustratedembodiment, the cap 4612 seals a top opening of the beverage chamberhousing 4614 to complete the chamber 4630. The cap 4612 can beconfigured to thread or snap on to a top end of the beverage chamberhousing 4614. The cap 4612 includes a compressible bladder 4640 formedof silicone or other suitable rubber, that allows for deformation of thebladder so as to accommodate the addition of liquid additives into thechamber 4630 by the dispensing assembly 4613. The cap 4612 also includesan air passageway 4642 to allow air to escape from behind the bladder4640 so that the bladder can compress to accommodate the addition of theliquid additives. As shown in FIGS. 55A-B, the bladder 4640 can beconfigured with a dimpled dome shape that yields an approximately linearresistance to deformation.

FIG. 56 illustrates a cutaway view of a pumping mechanism 5600 inaccordance with one embodiment. Similar to the embodiments discussedabove with reference to FIGS. 46-55, an additive vessel 5602 is receivedin a receptacle 5604, which engages within a pump housing 5606. Twoone-way valves similarly work together with a sliding piston andcylinder to pump additive liquid through a pumping chamber. In theembodiment illustrated in FIG. 56, however, the receptacle 5604 can beactuated manually, by a user grasping and withdrawing the receptaclefrom the pump housing 5606, or by another mechanical means. Thereceptacle 5604 is withdrawn against pressure of a spring 5608, which isbiased to press the receptacle back to its start position, such thatwhen the receptacle is released, any additive fluid drawn into thepumping chamber is then automatically ejected into the beverage chamber.

FIG. 57A illustrates a cutaway view of the receptacle 5604 of theembodiment of FIG. 56, but shown from a different perspective rotated 90degrees around a vertical axis. The receptacle 5604 includes a tab 5702that can be used either manually or actuated by a mechanism in order towithdraw the receptacle against the tension of the spring 5608 from thepump housing 5606. FIG. 57A also shows the additive vessel 5602 removedfrom the receptacle 5604.

FIGS. 57B and 57C illustrate a seal 5710 placed in a shoulder portion ofthe receptacle 5604 that serves a vacuum breaker function as theadditive vessel 5602 is withdrawn from the receptacle. Once the additivevessel 5602 is withdrawn even a slightest amount, the vessel no longercontacts the seal 5710 and therefore air is allowed to pass into thepumping chamber area as the vessel is withdrawn. If no air were allowedto pass into the pumping chamber, the action of withdrawing the vesselwould create a vacuum that would suck additive fluid out of the vesseland into the now open pumping chamber.

FIGS. 58A-D illustrate different configurations of additive vessels,containers or pods for liquid additives that can be used in accordancewith various embodiments. FIG. 58A illustrates an airless or non-ventedrear load vessel with a rigid tubular side wall. The additive vessel ofFIG. 58A is similar in function to the vessel 4802 illustrated in FIGS.49A-B, with a plunger 4920 that moves to prevent air from entering thevessel. FIG. 58B illustrates an airless front load vessel with a rigidtubular side wall. FIG. 58C illustrates a collapsible bag or sachetenclosed within an outer container. The collapsible bag makes theplunger unnecessary. FIG. 58D illustrates a vented additive vessel,which allows air to pass back into the vessel to take the place ofpumped additive fluid. A two-way valve 5842 allows additive fluid topass out of the vessel through a center portion of the valve, while airis allowed to enter the vessel through ports 5844 around the peripheryof the valve and under an umbrella portion of the valve.

FIG. 59 illustrates a simplified positive displacement pumping mechanismthat can be used with various actuation mechanisms in accordance withvarious embodiments.

One benefit of the foregoing described positive displacement pumpconfigurations is that when the additive vessel is withdrawn and whenthe beverage chamber housing is removed from the dispensing assembly allparts of the pumping mechanism become visible and accessible forcleaning. The pumping chamber is accessible through the receptacle andonly a one-way umbrella valve sits in the port between the pumpingchamber and the platform which is otherwise also accessible forcleaning. A one-way umbrella valve can be easily removed and cleaned orreplaced.

As noted above, the various features and functionality of theembodiments described above with reference to FIGS. 46-55, and furtherwith respect to FIGS. 56-59, can be combined and used in conjunctionvarious features and functionality described earlier with respect toFIGS. 1-45. While such combinations will be apparent to one skilled inthe art, certain variations on the embodiments described earlier withrespect to FIGS. 1-45 to accommodate the various embodiments of FIGS.46-59 will nevertheless be described in additional detail below.

Referring again to FIG. 24, the illustrated flowchart can be modified toaccommodate the various embodiments of FIGS. 46-59. For example, thedispensing assembly 4613 illustrated in FIG. 47 can be furtherconfigured with an attachment sensor (not illustrated) that monitorswhether the beverage chamber housing 4614 is threaded onto thedispensing assembly 4613 before a dispensing event occurs. In theillustration of FIG. 24, the attachment sensor can replace or supplementthe lid sensor 2401 and one or both checks can be performed beforeinitiating a dispensing event. Each additive vessel 4802 can beconfigured with an RFID tag as described above with reference to FIG.24. In the various embodiments of FIGS. 46-59, each vessel can beconfigured with its own separate pumping mechanism 5002, in which casethe steps 2412 and 2413 can omitted. The step 2414, to move a pressureactuator, can be modified to instead drive a motor or other actuationmechanism to move the piston. At step 2416 a linear potentiometer (notillustrated) can be used to determine the position of the pump piston.As noted above, the volume dispensed during a single piston stroke canbe modulated linearly by modifying the piston stroke length. Multiplepiston strokes can be used to dispense larger quantities.

Referring again to FIG. 30, the illustrated flowchart can be modified toaccommodate the various embodiments of FIGS. 46-59. For example, thestep 3006, to move a pressure actuator, can be modified to instead drivea motor or other actuation mechanism to move the piston. At step 3007 alinear potentiometer (not illustrated) can be used to determine theposition of the pump piston. As noted above, the volume dispensed duringa single piston stroke can be modulated linearly by modifying the pistonstroke length. Multiple piston strokes can be used to dispense largerquantities.

Referring again to FIG. 35, the illustrated flowchart can be modified toaccommodate the various embodiments of FIGS. 46-59. For example, thestep 3501 can be triggered by a user's actuation of a user input button4616 on the container in order to initiate a dispensing event. The step3501 can also or alternatively be triggered by a Bluetooth or othercommunication from a user's mobile device. The step 3507 to determinepressure and duration, can be modified to determine piston stroke lengthand/or number of strokes needed to dispense the correct amount ofadditive.

In various embodiments, portions of the pumping mechanism need not bereplicated and can be configured to be shared between different additivevessels, such as by using a single motor that is actuated or rotated toengage with different pumping mechanisms for different additive vessels.In this case, the steps 2412 and 2413 referred to with respect to FIG.24 can be configured to rotate or move the shared motor or actuationmechanism to an appropriate position to act on a corresponding pumpingmechanism or additive vessel. Similar modifications can be made to steps3001, 3002 and 3003 of FIG. 30, as well as to step 3508 of FIG. 35.

The foregoing detailed description has set forth various embodiments ofthe systems, devices, and/or processes via the use of block diagrams,flowcharts, and/or examples. Insofar as such block diagrams, flowcharts,and/or examples contain one or more functions and/or operations, it willbe understood by those within the art that each function and/oroperation within such block diagrams, flowcharts, or examples can beimplemented, individually and/or collectively, by a wide range ofhardware, software, firmware, or virtually any combination thereof.

With respect to the use of substantially any plural and/or singularterms herein, those having skill in the art can translate from theplural to the singular and/or from the singular to the plural as isappropriate to the context and/or application. The varioussingular/plural permutations may be expressly set forth herein for sakeof clarity.

Thus, particular embodiments of the subject matter have been described.In some cases, the actions described in accordance with one or more ofthe embodiments may be performed in a different order and still achievedesirable results. In addition, the processes depicted in theaccompanying figures do not necessarily require the particular ordershown, or sequential order, to achieve desirable results. In certainimplementations, multitasking and parallel processing may beadvantageous.

1-40. (canceled)
 41. An apparatus comprising: a container assembly thatstores a liquid; a tag; a vessel that contains an additive to bedispensed into the liquid, and the vessel including a valve, and thevessel being associated with the tag; an aperture, the aperturestructured to removably retain the vessel; and a dispensing assemblythat includes: a mechanism, associated with the vessel, to transferadditive from the respective vessel to the liquid; a processer that isconfigured to process communications with the tag; a memory thatincludes a non-transitory processor-readable storage media that includesinstructions, and the instructions readable by the processor inoperation; and a communication element, and the process communicationsincluding (a) the processor reading first data from the tag through thecommunication element and (b) the processor writing second data to thetag through the communication element.
 42. The apparatus of claim 41,the dispensing assembly includes the aperture.
 43. The apparatus ofclaim 41, the communication element includes an antenna.
 44. Theapparatus of claim 43, the communication element includes an RFIDantenna.
 45. The apparatus of claim 44, the tag is a passive RFID tag.46. The apparatus of claim 45, the vessel associated with the tagincludes the tag being mounted on the vessel.
 47. The apparatus of claim41, the vessel associated with the tag includes the tag being mounted onthe vessel.
 48. The apparatus of claim 41, the vessel associated withthe tag includes the tag being affixed to an external surface of therespective vessel.
 49. The apparatus of claim 41, the first data, whichis read by the processor, relates to additive that is contained withinthe vessel.
 50. The apparatus of claim 41, the mechanism is a pumpingmechanism, and the pumping mechanism includes a piston.
 51. Theapparatus of claim 41, the mechanism includes a one-way valve to allowadditive to pass from the vessel into the liquid.
 52. The apparatus ofclaim 51, the vessel including a respective plunger that is adapted tovary a storage volume of each respective vessel.
 53. The apparatus ofclaim 41, the aperture includes an attachment mechanism for coupling thevessel to the dispensing assembly.
 54. The apparatus of claim 53, theattachment mechanism includes an angled surface, and the angled surfaceprovided to secure the vessel into the aperture.
 55. The apparatus ofclaim 54, the vessel includes threads that engage with the angledsurface.
 56. The apparatus of claim 41, the container assembly furtherincluding a cover, and the processor configured to: identify that thecover has been removed; and in response to determining that the coverhas been removed, from a remainder of the container assembly, initiate ascan of the tag so as to input the first data.
 57. The apparatus ofclaim 41, the processor configured to: input the first data from the tagand store the first information in the memory; and relay the first datato at least one selected from the group consisting of a user device anda network.